Why private equity is a dangerous employer

Policy
October 25, 2021

About 4 months after emergency medicine physician Jessica (a pseudonym used out of fear of retaliation from her employer) joined a Michigan hospital in 2014, the department’s staffing group was bought out by TeamHealth, a staffing firm backed by the private-equity behemoth Blackstone.

Ever since Emergency Medicine Specialists (EMS) — which touts itself as one of the oldest emergency physician groups in Michigan — was acquired by TeamHealth, “it’s been …

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Which is better: Psychotherapy using video or in-person while wearing masks?

Physician
October 25, 2021

At the very start of the pandemic last year, I met with a couple of patients in the office while we wore masks.  Based on that limited experience, I quickly concluded that seeing each other’s faces was of paramount importance, even if over video.  That, plus the infection risk, led me to close my office to in-person appointments.  For more than a year, I exclusively conducted …

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Why it may be time for doctors to unionize

Physician
October 25, 2021

Remember the dark days of the pandemic, when the true risk of caring for COVID patients started to become clear? Remember when you could be censured by a nursing supervisor or administrator for wearing a mask in public areas lest you frighten patients or visitors?

Right around then, a third-year resident at UCLA decided to wear a mask wherever he went in the hospital, as testing wasn’t readily …

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Physician suicide: Where are the leaders? [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 24, 2021
YouTube video

“As a mother, a physician, and an educator, I refuse to accept this as normal. It is not! What should we tell the parents of these young physicians? How do we explain to them that their dream of being a doctor became a nightmare with a tragic ending? What do …

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The success of Australian firearms regulation: What it could mean for children

Policy
October 24, 2021

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2018 noted the sad milestone that firearms were causing 15% of all deaths in children and adolescents. Somewhat encouraging, a later study showed states with stricter firearm laws correlated with lower numbers of firearm deaths in children. The relationship was quite linear, as you can see below. The authors had specific criteria for weak vs. strong gun laws: if …

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4 money mistakes everyone makes

Finance
October 24, 2021

Over the last 32 years, I have been following the literature concerning money, investing, and debt. In the last few years, I started writing about the topic as well as sharing my knowledge with other physicians through one-on-one financial coaching. Through the years, I have seen many people make the same mistakes when projecting financial goals, and they make them year after year.

When all of the answers are at our …

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Thinking like a plumber when adjusting medications

Physician
October 24, 2021

Recently, I solved a medical dilemma by changing the medication that seemed to have nothing to do with my patient’s problem.

Ethan Blake is a thin-boned, soft-spoken man with atrial fibrillation and a history of high blood pressure. He lives alone and prefers to shovel his own driveway. He also loves to walk his springer spaniel in the woods behind his house. He is in great physical shape.

At his routine follow-up …

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Why clinicians can’t keep ignoring care coordination [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 23, 2021
YouTube video

“Provider organizations may look at their budgets and think the traditional model of fax machines and landlines is serving their entity in optimizing revenue streams. They may even look at their providers’ full schedules and believe there isn’t a patient population that still needs care. But this would be …

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Systemic racism and Indigenous deaths in health care

Policy
October 23, 2021

Ni cta ni akohikon: That hurts me.

Carol pe ntamici: Carol, come see me.

Ni taci sa micta mackikikatakoiin: They are overdosing me on drugs.

Wipatc tca: Do it quickly.

Those were the chilling words of Joyce Echaquan, broadcasting live from Facebook on September 28, 2020 at 10:27 am (English translation provided).

On September 26, 2020, Joyce Echaquan went to De Lanaudière Hospital in Joliette, Quebec.  She was suffering from severe stomach pain.  …

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For doctors leaving clinical practice: Do not consider utilization review jobs

Physician
October 23, 2021

When I decided to leave practice and explore non-clinical career options, I found no shortage of opportunities, ranging from the pharmaceutical industry to the health insurance industry and many points in between. I chose to work in the health insurance industry because jobs were plentiful, and the focus of work remained on the patient.

A typical entry-level job in the health insurance industry is that of utilization …

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I’m your primary care doctor. May I take your order?

Physician
October 23, 2021

My Tuesday out of clinic started off like any other Tuesday. I got up (sluggish, still chronically sleep-deprived), scrubbed my face and brushed my teeth, slipped into workout clothes then set to getting my two girls ready for school. After packing lunches, brushing hair, and waiving to the bus, I sat down to do what most of us do on our days out of clinic: check the dreaded inbox. Who …

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Technology’s impact on dermatology [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 22, 2021
YouTube video

“During COVID, the medical training system had to adapt because people couldn’t meet in person and even those that could didn’t have access to patients or facilities in the same capacity. However, the explosion of remote training tools that became available make this hybrid training method as good in many …

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Expanding health care access and equity through telehealth

Policy
October 22, 2021

The COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) has been an amplifier and catalyst for numerous issues. The pandemic has impacted health care delivery significantly, and inequities for the Black community are more apparent. Federal and state rules for telehealth compliance/reimbursement were relaxed to preserve health care access during the PHE. While we are still in the data collection and observation phase, some concepts are clear: Telehealth positively impacts health care access, …

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A son’s brain cancer. A father’s story. [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 21, 2021
YouTube video

“As you wait, you have a lot of time to think. You comb through the past in search of something you might have missed. If we had acted sooner on the signs of his illness—had the cancer been diagnosed earlier—would Lee have had a better chance? You think about your …

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Crossing the liminal space of the pandemic

Physician
October 21, 2021

We have been walking down a long hallway for many, many months. We left the room we resided in pre-COVID, but we have not yet found a room to rest. We are in the liminal space of COVID. This is unsettling and unnerving — liminal space often is.

Liminal space in architecture is the area between discrete, functional spaces, a way of passage, but not the place where beds are placed, …

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Stratified reproduction in medicine

Conditions
October 21, 2021

Shellee Cohen defines “stratified reproduction” as the practice in which society assigns value to offspring and, therefore reproductive capacity of different groups of people. While commonly race or socioeconomically based, this can be based on any category we can divide people.  This concept is ever-present in medicine, even in the most progressive environments. This became most evident when  I was sitting at my desk in an outpatient gynecology office, clicking …

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I was thinking about retiring, and COVID-19 gave me a push [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 20, 2021
YouTube video

“Last March, I was working in a small primary care practice on the west side of Denver. COVID-19 came to town. On Thursday, March 12, we were told the schools would be closing. On Friday, we were told that clinic staff had to wear masks — and the clinic had …

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Why physician-owned businesses need our attention and support [PODCAST]

Podcast
October 19, 2021
YouTube video

“There has been a growing wave of entrepreneurial physicians finding joy and value in starting consulting and coaching businesses. Many use their expertise to work with physicians exclusively. Our company has been excited to play a part in better spotlighting these businesses. Today it is now even easier to find …

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Breast cancer’s silver lining

Conditions
October 19, 2021

asco-logo In many ways, this woman was similar to other patients I have seen after a diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Her hair was growing back, and I immediately noticed that she was comfortable enough to not be wearing a wig or head covering for our Zoom visit. I keep my hair very short by choice and I find this …

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