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Omicron and misinformation: When will we learn from past mistakes?

Physician

December 15, 2021

Did anyone else’s heart sink when you heard about the new COVID variant? Mine sure did. I wasn’t surprised when I heard the news. I felt numb as I know we are in for a challenging period, partially because the colder months are quickly approaching and Omicron has already been identified in numerous countries globally. Echoing the words of a science-fiction movie, “the alien(variant) in amongst us” resonated with many …

Genetic testing’s emotional impact [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 14, 2021

“Finding out I was gene-positive had hit me harder than I could ever have imagined. How was I to know that my decision to get tested would have such an impact on my life? All of the rehearsing I had done in the weeks leading up to my results …

12 year-end tax planning tips for physicians

Syed Nishat, BFA

Finance

December 14, 2021

As another autumn pulls the pages off the 2021 calendar, it’s already time to start planning for the end of the year. The days get shorter but often busier as the weather cools down. This can be a vital time when preparing for taxes, and it’s good to know what the best savings strategies are for you to implement now, which will put you in a good spot for your …

End the trauma, stop health care’s great resignation, and protect care teams now

Bridget Duffy, MD

Physician

December 14, 2021

Health care workers understand that workplace violence, cognitive overload, and burnout have been challenging their safety and wellbeing long before COVID-19 added to their trauma. Bias and inequities in health care environments were also present well before this novel virus began making headlines. The time is now for us to determine what it will take to keep people in their chosen profession and then rapidly make these changes. Failure to …

Viral upper respiratory infections in the age of COVID

David Epstein, MD

Conditions

December 14, 2021

Your toddler has had a cough and runny, stuffy nose on and off for months. They also attend daycare and have a sibling in preschool. You are worried about the symptoms. You are also exhausted because your child’s coughing and congestion is not letting either of you sleep at night. Does this sound familiar?

You ask yourself, “Is this normal?” and “What is wrong with my child?”

Well, to calm your fears, …

If you’re a nurse or an abuse survivor, you don’t have to be brave [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 13, 2021

“I’m not brave. I’m just me. Full of light and lifted by my light. You see, when you strip away the darkness and lies that others surround you with, you’re left only with your light. The genuine you. Moving forward in life in ways that are authentically you. Not because …

Superheroes can have disabilities, too

Marie Lusk

Education

December 13, 2021

The highly anticipated release of Marvel Studios’ Eternals has people excited about superheroes. When I see an individual in a white coat and stethoscope or a person in scrubs, I see a real superhero, someone who works in the health care field. Our health care providers showed us their superpowers when our country was infected by the novel coronavirus. We witnessed collaboration amongst medical disciplines to combat this deadly virus. …

Read more…

Superheroes can have disabilities, too

Why patients refuse the COVID-19 vaccination

Hayward Zwerling, MD

Physician

December 13, 2021

The U.S. is progressively falling behind other countries when rated on the percent of the population that is vaccinated against COVID-19.

I ask all my patients if they are vaccinated against COVID-19 and estimate that 80 percent are vaccinated. The unvaccinated can be unscientifically categorized into three groups, highlighting three real but anonymous patients.

Politically indifferent, medically uneducated, under peer pressure

The first patient is in their 5th decade of …

VIP medicine: Where patients get bad medical care

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

Physician

December 13, 2021

Let’s take a pediatrics patient as an example. She has a rare genetic disorder, heart problems, is G-tube dependent, and home-bound. The child is also on countless medications and requires 24-hour nursing. The family is rich and pays 100 percent of the child’s medical care.

Parents want what’s best for their children, right? I mean, their child’s care is 100 percent …

Monica Gandhi, MD on why hospitalizations better measure COVID’s impact [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 13, 2021

Welcome to an expedited episode of The Podcast by KevinMD. Monica Gandhi is an infectious disease physician and co-author of the New York Times opinion article, “Why Hospitalizations Are Now a Better Indicator of Covid’s Impact.”

Transcript

Kevin Pho, MD: Hi, and welcome to the show where we share …

A satirical letter to radiologists from a jilted orthopedic surgeon [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 12, 2021

“We orthopedic surgeons are disappointed with the growing lack of enthusiasm in your reports. When I began in practice almost 15 years ago, it wasn’t unusual to see a report of a post-reduction or post-surgical X-ray that read, ‘alignment is now anatomic’ or, at a minimum, ‘near anatomic.’

What happened? What …

3 ways to reawaken nurse purpose in the era of burnout

Morgan Haynes

Conditions

December 12, 2021

In September, the American Nurses Association asked the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the national nursing shortage as a national crisis. At the same time, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses found 66 percent of ICU nurses were considering leaving the profession. Talk to any hospital, and you’ll hear of high turnover and struggles to fill shifts. So far, the …

Backdoor Roth conversions may be going away: What this means for physicians

Paul Morton, CFP

Finance

December 12, 2021

Even though their incomes often exceed the phaseout threshold for funding Roth IRAs, physicians have been utilizing loopholes in the tax code to fund Roth IRAs for the past decade or more. Converting IRA funds to Roth IRA funds allows a taxpayer to change a tax-deferred IRA to a tax-free Roth IRA. In doing so, the taxpayer must pay taxes on the balance of the account that is …

Is Descovy really the better option?

Frank F. Zhou

Meds

December 12, 2021

When the FDA approved Gilead’s Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil) for HIV PrEP in 2012, it was a revolutionary step forward. The drug was safe and up to 99 percent effective in preventing HIV infection in at-risk individuals.

Then in 2019, Gilead received FDA approval for a second drug for PrEP called Descovy (emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide), with equivalent efficacy to Truvada. Recent research has shown that by the end of 2020, …

Read more…

Is Descovy really the better option?

A COVID and Omicron update with Jeremy Faust, MD [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 11, 2021

Welcome to an expedited episode of The Podcast by KevinMD. Jeremy Faust is an emergency physician who can be reached on Twitter @JeremyFaust and on Instagram @JeremySamuelFaust. He also publishes the newsletter, Inside Medicine.

Transcript

Kevin Pho, MD: Hi, and welcome to the …

“Take it or leave it” is not negotiation but coercion [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 11, 2021

“Physicians can exert their influence in a health care environment to put the patient-physician relationship at the center of the enterprise. Working with middle-market employers (between 200-2,000 employees), some companies pair bold doctors with innovative employers to bring exceptional value to employee health benefits. There are no pre-authorizations for …

Fund this: Policies can fill medical funding gaps for all

Amanda LaMonica-Weier, DNP

Policy

December 11, 2021

Ellen DeGeneres is ending her popular TV talk show next year after 19 seasons. The need for the type of celebrity and crowdsourcing donations she is known for to assuage an individual’s health care needs to end as well.

This accepted norm is gaslighting at its finest.

As a fan of The Ellen Show, I don’t feel warm and fuzzy after seeing a patient facing cancer with a large medical bill moved to tears …

Tired of the dying: Finding parallels in COVID-19 and HIV

Aldebra Schroll, MD

Conditions

December 11, 2021

Recently, while visiting with a colleague in our doctor’s lounge, I blurted out, “I’m tired of the dying.” He looked at me quizzically, “But you’re the hospice doctor.” True, death comes with my work, but the recent volume of and the loss of younger patients have been especially difficult. It reminds me of an earlier time we faced a new virus.

As we endure this pandemic well into its second year, …

Create a new medical reality

Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Physician

December 11, 2021

I am an avid medical blogger. Without a doubt, the most common theme I’ve encountered during the past several years is embodied in the following op-ed: “We must help physicians at the brink of burnout, depression, and high stress,” followed by: “Health care has crossed into a realm of moral injury and systemic collapse.”

I tackled the second essay first. I wrote a no-holds-barred response …

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Create a new medical reality

Change is critical to fulfilling our calling

Andy Lamb, MD

Physician

December 10, 2021

July 2, 1973, is a day etched forever in my mind. A day I remember as if it happened yesterday even though 47 years have passed. A day I thought would never come and then, when it did, would never end. It was the day I entered West Point as a 17-year-old kid with big dreams to “become an Airborne, Ranger, Infantryman and lead men in combat.” That was my …

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