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It is time to end the stigma of mental health. Let us all talk about it.

Mary Leung, MD

Physician

May 18, 2022

The first time I heard the song “Truth Be Told” by Matthew West, tears welled up, and I cried. I was driving home after a long day at the clinic. The song resonated with me in more ways than I could soak in.

Lie number one: You’re supposed to have it all together
And when they ask how you’re doing, just smile and tell them, “Never better” …

I had this mental construct …

Why clinician buy-in is key to digital health transformation

Joshua Liu, MD

Tech

May 18, 2022

It was a summer day seven years ago. We had closed our first U.S. hospital customer for my digital health company, which enables health systems to deliver digital care journeys for patients (e.g., surgery, oncology, chronic care, etc.).

I was ecstatic! Unfortunately, our excitement was short-lived.

We “implemented” our solution, but patient enrollment was going poorly. When we went on-site to investigate, we learned that surgeons were pushing back against patients getting …

Anesthesiologists are kind of like Marvel superheroes

Zach Antonov, MD

Physician

May 18, 2022

An excerpt from I Watch You Sleep: A Doctor’s Tales of Anesthesia and Chain Restaurants.

Medicine on television is often inaccurate. As a physician, it bugs me to see my field misrepresented. It is even rarer to see anesthesiology represented at all on TV. I’m sure lawyers scream …

Only patients can save U.S. health care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 17, 2022

“Having a physician partner who knows us well, who we can trust, and whose judgment we value exponentially increases the odds of accurately making the distinction between self-limited illness versus a significant disease process. This will also assist us in navigating the health care system such that we receive only that …

You have the right to boundaries

Victoria Silas, MD

Physician

May 17, 2022

World events have me thinking about boundaries. Countries have boundaries. Often they are based on the land’s physical features, but not always. Boundaries are created over time and may need to change for various reasons. So too with our personal human boundaries.

When we speak of personal boundaries, we can mean the physical boundaries of our skin. Or we may mean the psychological or social boundaries that we live with and …

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You have the right to boundaries

Why I help physicians write

Jack El-Hai

Conditions

May 17, 2022

Several years ago, I stood before an audience at a neurosurgical conference to discuss my book The Lobotomist, a biography of Walter Freeman, MD, an advocate and promoter of the controversial treatment of lobotomy.

I gave my talk, and it went well. I am not a physician — I’m a journalist and biographer who often writes about medicine, and I feel comfortable speaking at medical conferences, grand rounds sessions and medical …

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Why I help physicians write

The J-1 work exemption: a flawed solution to the physician shortage

Gregory Tan

Policy

May 17, 2022

A few years ago, my rural town expected the addition of a “J-1,” or foreign, physician. This addition was meant to alleviate the work of my father, who had been the only neurologist at our underserved hospital for the past few years. And yet, with this J-1’s arrival, my father and his office soon found themselves struggling with more work than ever before.

As many rural physicians can attest, this behavior …

Women’s mental health in an America without Roe

Susan Hatters Friedman, MD, Nina Ross, MD, Jacqueline Landess, MD, JD, and Aimee Kaempf, MD

Policy

May 17, 2022

The leaked Supreme Court draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization has produced mixed emotions, including amongst health care providers. If the Supreme Court does indeed strike down the rights afforded women in Roe v. Wade almost 50 years ago, it is expected that many if not most states will ban abortions outright or significantly limit women’s access to abortions. If this occurs, as physicians, we should have …

Are my coping skills a result of my emergency medicine training? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 16, 2022

“We’re encouraged to mentally rehearse life-saving procedures for conditions that occur so rarely we might go our entire career without performing them. And the reality is that I could spend every minute of my free time this way and still have an unexpected situation arise during my next shift. So, is …

3 solutions to combat rising drug overdoses during COVID-19

Anita Gupta, DO, PharmD

Physician

May 16, 2022

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.

Recent data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has shown a sharp increase in drug-related overdoses attributed to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, deepening the tragedies of the already challenged opioid epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic.

Unraveling the snowball effect of these public health …

Physicians owe it to themselves to take care of their health and families first

Tomi Mitchell, MD

Physician

May 16, 2022

Primary care is a field that is both highly rewarding and highly challenging. Those who enter into it quickly find that they are rewarded with the satisfaction of knowing they are playing a vital role in the lives of their patients. However, they also soon realize the immense responsibility of the job. There are always more patients that need to be seen, more phone calls that need to be returned, …

Trust me, not the internet: Millennials need solid medical information

Lisa P. Solomon, DO

Physician

May 16, 2022

Misinformation and public distrust of health care professionals are a daily hazard affecting the health of millions of people. So what can health care professionals do about it?

A new study shows 37% of millennials, or those ages 25 to 34 years old, do not trust their health care providers. The age groups from 35 to 54 years old show 34% distrust their health care providers. At 65 …

Residency interviews and the inner muse [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 15, 2022

“Have you ever wondered how many times death has not come, but could have? On the corner of Church Street and Dubuque how close was I, pausing to assess an ice-sheeted puddle just before a woman turns, her head turned too, searching for what? A snack? A phone? A child crying? …

Oral health is justice for all

Richard Rodriguez, DDS

Policy

May 15, 2022

Recently, the New England Journal of Medicine published “Oral Health for All — Realizing the Promise of Science,” authored by some of the most respected officials in dentistry and medicine, including the U.S. Surgeon General. They declared the pressing need to address the “global public health threat” of inequitable dental care. With a surprisingly populist title, it was refreshing for a public health dentist to see a …

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Oral health is justice for all

Patient platforms should be intuitive in design and execution

Christopher Noll, RN, MSN

Tech

May 15, 2022

Patients need access to their health care data and health care consumers need access to their health care information. Data and information are not the same. Data is akin to the ingredients for a meal, while information is more like the meal. Imagine ordering a meal in a restaurant. The wait staff brings the ingredients to your table. You still need a chef to prepare the dinner. This is much …

Military and medicine: 10 shared risk factors for eating disorder development

Jillian Rigert, MD, DMD

Conditions

May 15, 2022

In 2017, I was medically discharged from the military due to an exacerbation of an eating disorder. At that time, anorexia nervosa (AN) provided relief from the depression that I had developed secondary to the multitude of stressors that came with being in the Air Force and an oral and maxillofacial surgery resident. Years later, I have made major career pivots to regain my health. However, military and medical culture …

A patient explains the reasons behind doctor hopping [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

May 14, 2022

“Oh no, it’s a doctor hopper. You know who I’m talking about: the patients with twenty previous doctors documented in their chart. The ones who took years to be diagnosed. The ones who still have not been diagnosed, but insist something is wrong. They’re just jumping around until they get their …

Our vulnerabilities, when treated and acknowledged, can become our biggest strength

Anonymous

Conditions

May 14, 2022

I will tell you why health care professionals feel they need to be superhuman, without needs or vulnerabilities.

Because that is who we want to be, why we got into the field, and then our training reinforces those very ideas. We exist to take care of others, not be taken care of.

I am a health care professional. I also struggle with major depressive disorder (MDD) as well as an eating disorder. …

We are humans first and inspiring, gifted healers second

Diane W. Shannon, MD, MPH

Physician

May 14, 2022

Our profession often sends the message that we are invincible heroes.

Here’s my vulnerable and honest admission: I lapped that up. There was something so seductive about denying pesky human requirements, like sleep, regular exercise, and time to decompress. I liked being needed more than I liked having needs.

I sublimated mine under my superhero cape right up until the time I hit a kryptonite wall. There …

Naming the anti-Asian racism of U.S. COVID-19 policy

Michelle Ko, MD, PhD

Conditions

May 14, 2022

It started as the “Chinese virus.” Then the “kung flu.” Then came the boycotts of Chinatowns, the rise in harassment, assaults, and murders. The recognition of hate and discrimination against Asian Americans was long overdue. However, anti-Asian racism doesn’t just manifest in hate speech or violence; it has undermined the U.S. COVID-19 policy response.

In 2020, American media narratives frequently painted Asian nations’ success in controlling COVID-19 as the result of …