When I entered the field of medicine, the goal was clear; to make patients “better.” Through my hospital-based training and practice as an internal medicine physician, I developed a strong interest in illness prevention — how can we keep patients from coming here in the first place? The answer became crystal clear. What wasn’t clear was how to focus on preventative care in the current structure of the U.S. health …
I recently had an email exchange with a friend and psychiatric colleague, Dr. Michael Myers, on the topic of professional courtesy. It’s a topic I’ve written about before. However, one of my essays stirred considerable controversy, so much so that readers’ comments turned ugly and unprofessional, and the commenting section on the host website was closed. It seems my op-ed struck a raw nerve primarily among millennials, many of whom …
I complain about my job all the time. The frustrations are endless. For example, EMR changes that seem pointless and create more clicks, instead of fewer, the constant barrage of patient emails in my inbox that start with “I have a question about X result” because results are released immediately to patients before I have seen them, patients that arrive late without having filled out medical history form ahead of …
“Six air changes per hour and HEPA grade filtration of indoor air for our children is an investment in their futures for long beyond when the COVID-19 pandemic fades from view. We know there is poor indoor air quality in multiple schools, from inadequate ventilation to air pollution to …
An excerpt from Medical Answers Now!: How Direct Primary Care Guarantees Fast Access to Your Doctor.
Virtually everyone understands the importance of major medical insurance as it relates to unexpected high-dollar care for severe injuries and significant medical conditions, but the value equation for health insurance is quite different when applied to coverage for primary care services.
The full potential cost for …
I was two months into my first year of medical school when I experienced it for the first time.
“Room 214 … oh yeah, she’s a real pain. She will probably talk your ear off and come up with a new self-diagnosis that she will want to get a full workup for. She always does.”
Nervously, I laughed it off. I grew up in a household where doctors are held in high …
My energy level was plummeting as Mrs. Jones explained how much her shoulder, her knees, her back, her belly, her head, hurt. She was worn out.
“And I don’t ever think I’ll feel better. I’ve felt like this for so long and I think I’ll always feel like this. I’m so sore. And so tired. And my family doesn’t do anything to help. In the evening after I’ve finished making dinner, …
Life can feel full of uncertainty when battling cancer, with few guarantees. “Is there still cancer in my body?” and “Will it come back?” are common questions that have long been difficult to answer confidently until recently. Advances in next-generation sequencing — and a growing understanding of how our bodies respond to illness and treatment — have brought us closer than ever to predicting our individual futures, at least when …
Frankly, I am tired of this pandemic. I am tired of the death. I am tired of the destruction of families and the obliteration of vulnerable individuals’ social supports. I am tired of human issues being politicized and used as weapons to divide us further. I am tired of people being politically correct at the expense of what is better for society.
So, let me be bold, and say something almost …
“I imagine I would have, as I’m sure so many others do, headed to the Internet, reading both accurate and inaccurate information. While much of my visit with my genetic counselor feels like a blur, I left that meeting with a list of answered questions, referrals to specialists, contact …
Over 12 months, I rebuilt my practice workflow to solve the problem of inefficient knowledge transfer between me and my patients. Now with a new system incorporating a library of leveraged digital assets I’m saving time and improving patient experience. Here’s how it happened:
“Hey, Picasso! That patient wants to keep your drawing to show her family!”
My secretary shouted down the hall to my office. An elderly patient asked to keep …
Funny (not necessarily “haha,” but sometimes that, too) how things sometimes start.
Somehow something got in my shoe.
It’s sort of like the sock that disappears in the dryer.
We don’t know how it happens, but it seems to.
In case you didn’t know, there’s actually a missing sock day — May 9.
I’m not sure how that was decided upon, but it’s been designated Lost Sock Awareness Day.
If you’re a believer in the Great …
This year, I lost too many close and extended family members to COVID-19. As a medical student, I was stunned to see a virus take a grasping toll on my life and surroundings. It was frightening, to say the least. Throughout the period of grief, which I’m still experiencing, I’ve learned a lot and have become more knowledgeable. Unfortunately, I learned that there was a common denominator among those …
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1. …
Massachusetts is again experiencing a COVID-19 surge and our hospitals are overwhelmed, mostly with unvaccinated patients.
As a practicing physician who takes care of many high-risk diabetic patients, I ask all my patients about their COVID-19 vaccination status. I explain to my unvaccinated patients that the benefits of vaccination far exceed the risk, both at the individual and societal levels.
Unfortunately, this conversation only convinces a minority of the unvaccinated to get …
“The medical profession hasn’t changed.
Our credibility hasn’t changed.
Our commitment to care for you – to adore you, to grieve your diagnosis and what it means for you and your family – hasn’t changed.
Our advice hasn’t changed.
I’m grateful for your trust in me.
I wish it didn’t require a cancer diagnosis to …
In September 2021, Hasan Minhaj appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and touted a purported “a war … between MDs and DOs.” In it, he compared osteopathic physicians, DOs, to RC Cola as opposed to the Coca-Cola of MDs, claiming that DOs are “off-brand doctor[s]” (and notably placing MDs above DOs with a slight, almost imperceptible motion of his hand). The bit occurred while Minhaj …
When our pediatric clinic added the PEARLS (Pediatric ACEs and Related Life-events Screener) questionnaire to well-child visits, we were worried that we would uncover trauma that we didn’t know how to address. Our physicians feared that the volume of patients with high scores would be overwhelming. We contended that this additional work was impossible because we don’t have support services like counseling. Beyond that, we expected our patients would be …
I was recently, on two occasions, the recipient of poor care. Care provided by my colleagues. Care that was not good. Care that made me feel sad. Care that did not help me or my patients.
First, I was yelled at by an angry son, who said I had not taken good care of his 89-year-old mother and had “almost killed her.” He told me that information came from the hospitalist, …
I would like to say that this is a story much like the tortoise and the hare, only it isn’t. There is only one character in this story, the hare. The High Achiever and The Motivated Drinker are the same character and are driven by the same human instinct.
Have you ever wondered why a strong-willed, intellectually above average, high-achiever tries and fails to say “no” to one glass too many …
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