Lessons from Forward Health: How direct primary care is the future of health care

Conditions
November 24, 2024

In the rapidly evolving landscape of health care, startups promising disruption often make headlines. But not all disruption leads to success. Forward Health, once hailed as a pioneer with its ultramodern clinics and AI-driven “doctor-in-a-box” CarePods, recently announced its abrupt closure. Despite raising over $650 million in funding, Forward’s inability to deliver on its ambitious promises is a case study in the pitfalls of prioritizing technology over patients.

The story of …

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From ER overload to genetic breakthrough: How allergies transformed my life and career

Conditions
November 24, 2024

I went to the emergency room 16 times for allergies and asthma as a college freshman. Each time I was given a prescription for an EpiPen, an auto-injector pen that administers a dose of epinephrine, used for the emergency care of an acute allergic reaction.

I was told to figure out what I was allergic to. I tried very hard but couldn’t. All my life, I have had hives, eczema, asthma, …

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Transforming public health: a physician’s innovative approach [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 23, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us for an insightful conversation with nephrologist and physician executive, David W. Moskowitz, as he shares his transformative views on the U.S. health care system. Drawing from his time as a Marshall …

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Self-governance in the medical profession and medical malpractice

Physician
November 23, 2024

Fundamental in a medical malpractice lawsuit is determining whether an unfortunate outcome is an error of nature or a medical error. An error of nature results from a medical intervention that aligns with the standard of care. A medical error, on the other hand, results from a medical intervention that departs from the standard of care.

The problem in medical malpractice is that errors of nature can be random occurrences even …

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How my father taught me the true meaning of generosity

Physician
November 23, 2024

I enjoy buying gifts for people I adore. It’s my love language. I enjoy seeing the smile, joy, or surprise in the eyes of those who receive my gifts. I live for these moments.

There were times when people did not express how much they appreciated my gift, but I could see it in their eyes. It’s not just my wild imagination; it’s because I’m always confident that what I buy …

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Why doctors increasingly turn away from rural clinical practice

Physician
November 23, 2024

It was recently reported that barely 10 percent of U.S. doctors work in rural health care. That number is continuing to shrink, while over 20 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, and more than 80 percent of rural Americans are considered medically underserved.

There are many reasons why doctors, mid-levels, and other health care workers are avoiding rural practice opportunities.

The one I want to focus on today is …

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How social prescribing is redefining patient care [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 22, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us for an enlightening conversation with Julia Hotz, journalist and author of The Connection Cure: The Prescriptive Power of Movement, Nature, Art, Service, and Belonging. We explore the transformative potential of social …

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The unspoken grief of doctors: How losing a patient changes them forever

Physician
November 22, 2024

I didn’t know
when I placed my stethoscope on your chest,
listening,
that I was listening for the last time.

I didn’t know
that you said,
“when the doctor sees me, I will be fine.”

I wish I had held you longer.
If I had known it would be the last time,
I would have listened
to your heart
for a few more minutes.

I am sorry you had to go
too soon.
It still hurts so much when I lose,
and death steals
my patient.

Over …

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Did Step 1’s pass/fail switch actually increase medical student burnout?

Education
November 22, 2024

In January 2022, the medical school curriculum underwent a transformative shift when Step 1, the first of three licensing exams for U.S. medical students, switched from numerical score to a pass/fail (P/F) grading system. Now, with several years of perspective, we can assess the broader implications of this change on medical education. The primary objective of this reform was to alleviate the pressures associated with Step 1 and to …

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How lifestyle choices today could impact your future family’s fertility [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 21, 2024
YouTube video

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Epigenetics is transforming our understanding of fertility. In this episode, fertility specialist Dr. Oluyemisi (Yemi) Famuyiwa joins us to explore how lifestyle factors like diet, stress, and environmental exposures influence gene expression through …

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Resilient heart: a journey through medicine and life

Physician
November 21, 2024

Prologue: a life forged in resilience

If you had asked me in the early days of my life where I thought I would end up, my answer would have been straightforward—a career in medicine like my mother, a family of my own, and perhaps a path well-traveled. But life rarely follows the lines we draw for it. Instead, it takes unpredictable turns, tests our strength in ways we never expect, and …

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Is the Goldwater Rule hindering us?

Physician
November 21, 2024

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will likely be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services. He has said things that are not true about vaccines, autism, raw milk, and more that we do not have to list here. Furthermore, I do not want to waste time with facts about his opinions. The health professionals who are reading this essay already know that RFK Jr.’s opinions are not supported by facts.

If …

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How life’s biggest lessons shape us: a journey through struggle, loss, and resilience

Physician
November 21, 2024

Life has a way of teaching us through the most unexpected experiences, often in moments that feel daunting. I reflect on this often, especially when I consider my own journey—a journey shaped by illness, loss, inspiration, and a constant hunger for knowledge. One lifetime can feel too short to absorb everything there is to learn, yet the most meaningful lessons often emerge in this brevity.

As a child, I never imagined …

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Navigating patient transitions following the withdrawal of Oxbryta

Meds
November 21, 2024

The withdrawal of Oxbryta (voxelotor) from global markets, announced by Pfizer after a recent data review revealed a rise in deaths and complications, has left sickle cell disease (SCD) patients in a precarious situation. The sudden nature of the announcement caught the patient and physician community off guard, as there was no prewarning. For an already narrow world of options available to people with sickle cell disease, this came as …

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Patient insights can shape your career in unexpected ways [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 20, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us in this episode as we explore the story of a medical student who redefined her career path after a pivotal moment of self-discovery and patient insight. Our guest, Janet A. Jokela, …

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How one health care family is using fiction to inspire real change in medicine

Physician
November 20, 2024

American health care is broken. There are decades of literature detailing the physician shortage, burnout, moral injury, administrative bloat, devaluing of physicians, the shift from fee-for-service to real value unit (RVU)–based compensation, as well as the challenges of electronic medical records. No discernible and substantive changes have been made.

Coming from a health care family, I was familiar with the challenges I would face as a physician. My father, John Denman, …

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The urgent need for better early intervention programs

Conditions
November 20, 2024

As someone working in the health care field, I have become all too familiar with the need for early intervention and how important it can be for a child’s overall progress.

There are parents who travel to larger states in search of better medical care and services, of which early intervention is a significant one. One particular case comes to mind, where Spanish-speaking parents sought early intervention for their daughter, but …

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Top-down hierarchies in health care harm patients and health care workers alike

Conditions
November 20, 2024

As I lay abandoned on a stretcher in the hallway of my university hospital’s emergency room, I felt powerless in my ability to improve the quality of my care. Nurses bustled back and forth between patient rooms, too busy to give me the attention I deserved. My bladder was getting painfully full, but I was too weak to get up to use the restroom and unable to find anyone I …

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Diagnosing ADHD in adults: Understanding the risks and rewards of treatment [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 19, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with psychiatrist Morgan Hardy to explore the complex rise in adult ADHD diagnoses. Morgan shares insights on the growing demand for ADHD evaluations, the impact of social and environmental factors, …

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Why your doctor wants you to talk about poop — and it could save your life

Conditions
November 19, 2024

A patient came to see me recently (all my stories start like this: “A patient walked into the room…,” akin to “A guy walked into a bar…”), and she was so embarrassed to be there. That’s not uncommon for me. What was unusual was that she refused to talk about her bowel habits. She couldn’t say what her symptoms were or what her poop looked like. To her, it was …

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