The vacation had been planned for months. With laptop in hand, I headed to my happy place… my favorite place in the sun. I was excited to check some things off my to-do list while enjoying the sun, the beach, and the breeze.
But things didn’t go as planned. For the next ten days, the internet service was out. Despite my daily calls to the service provider, hoping for a fix, …
Efforts to generate a resource of postmortem brain tissue for research are in their infancy. Autism BrainNet, a program of the Simons Foundation, is trying to jump-start those efforts. Currently, there are fewer than 200 postmortem autistic brains in the Autism BrainNet program available to researchers worldwide who are looking into the underlying biological causes of autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Postmortem brain tissue accelerates research efforts and advances …
Rachel was making her 25th visit to the emergency department. The wound on her leg from injecting drugs had spread to her entire calf and required a lengthy course of antibiotic treatment in the hospital. The few times she had been admitted to the hospital, she had left without finishing treatment because the pain and withdrawal symptoms were too much to bear. On her most recent visit, she finally stayed to …
Like most physicians, I’m cautiously optimistic and sometimes skeptical about the AI-powered tools coming to health care.
As a dermatologist, I understand the dire need in our profession to address administrative burdens that can be soul-crushing–the constant barrage of documentation needs, non-clinical paper shuffling, and ever-changing reporting requirements, to name a few. As a software executive, I also understand the deeply complex technical requirements needed to integrate AI into existing systems …
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Devina Wadhwa, a psychiatrist, shares her personal journey through burnout and the challenges of navigating systemic pressures in health care. From recognizing subtle signs of burnout to setting boundaries and redefining resilience, she …
An excerpt from Reshaping Health Systems: What Drives Health Care and How You Can Change It. Copyright © 2024, Wolters Kluwer.
Clinical case
Jessica is a 67-year-old woman having her very first visit with her new primary care clinician, Dr. Jackson. Jessica is accompanied by her husband, Daniel, and comes in with recent laboratory results from her previous clinician, whom she could no longer see because her clinic stopped accepting Jessica’s …
The people unwilling to tolerate the BS in the face of dysfunction are often identified as the problem by those who have adapted to and/or benefit from maintaining the status quo. Too often, we believe it—that we are the problem. By challenging this belief and reframing it, we can reclaim our narrative and empower ourselves to stay true to our mission. We …
Among men, even before COVID-19, the popularity of testosterone therapy since 2000 likely outpaced the clinical need. There have been a number of proposed reasons for this, such as increased direct-to-consumer marketing for low testosterone treatments and the rise of clinics based around testosterone prescribing hidden under the guise of “men’s health.” Much of this growth was seen from 2000-2013 in older men before a decline around the time the …
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Join us for an insightful conversation with emergency physician Drew Remignanti as we explore the complexities of transitioning to Medicare for all. We’ll discuss the potential benefits, pitfalls, and misconceptions surrounding the concept, …
As artificial intelligence (AI) systems increasingly permeate our health care industry, it is imperative that physicians take a proactive role in evaluating these novel technologies. AI-driven tools are reshaping diagnostics, treatment planning, and risk assessment, but with this transformation comes the responsibility to ensure that these systems are valid, reliable, and ethically deployed. A clear understanding of key concepts like validity, reliability, and the limitations of AI performance metrics is …
Dementia is advancing at an unprecedented rate—every three seconds, another person is diagnosed. Currently, 55 million people worldwide live with dementia, and by 2050, that number could soar to 139 million. These figures aren’t mere statistics; they represent individuals, families, and communities facing complex, life-altering challenges. For primary care providers, who often stand as the first line of defense, this signals a crucial need for precise, sensitive tools to …
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is a little known gastrointestinal (GI) disorder with links to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Today, it takes an average of about six years for patients to receive a proper IBS diagnosis and begin a course of treatment, all the while experiencing debilitating symptoms from this disease.
Despite SIBO’s long documented medical history, it is poorly understood in comparison to similar chronic GI conditions. While there have …
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This article is sponsored by Microsoft.
Over the past few months, we’ve asked hundreds of physicians about their feelings toward and experiences with health care AI.
We’ve found much optimism …
Most Texas politicians balk at even discussing Medicaid expansion. They fear the wrath of state leadership and the threat of being primaried by someone further to the right.
The expansion of Medicaid to the full extent permitted by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is both an ethical and financial imperative. From a moral standpoint, expansion would provide health care coverage to a significant number of low-income individuals who are currently unable …
At age 80, I’m an “old guy.” I’ve been an avid reader and writer on multiple subjects all of my life. Though I write primarily about U.S. health care, I maintain a lively interest in politics generally. Since election day, I’ve been hearing stories that express a profound sense of trauma in millions of us. Many feel themselves to be in mourning for their beloved country. Others feel vindicated and …
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Imagine a world where chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension—long-standing giants of global health care burden—are intercepted before they take root. A smartwatch buzzing with a warning of an irregular heartbeat. An app gently nudging someone to take a short walk after hours of inactivity. For millions, these digital whispers are not just reminders but lifelines. In an age where chronic illnesses claim over 41 million lives annually, …
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Join us for an insightful conversation with Ben Reinking, a board-certified pediatric cardiologist, medical educator, and certified physician development coach, as we explore the profound impact of emotional intelligence in health care. Ben …
I don’t know when the word burnout came into my vocabulary, but I feel that we use it constantly in our health care world today. I always thought I was immune to this concept of burnout. My self-talk was that I was strong and nothing would ever happen to me. As a psychiatrist and a yoga practitioner, I thought I was better equipped to “handle my feelings” and be in …
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Group therapy can be a powerful treatment modality when done right. Research affirms it as equally effective compared to individual therapy, and the relatively lower cost puts this service within reach of patients who struggle to access behavioral health care due to financial constraints.
Meeting the growing need for mental health support in the United States, recent research published by American Psychologist states that group therapy could save more than $5.6 …
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