The unexpected truth about restless legs syndrome treatments

Conditions
November 7, 2024

For decades, patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) have been prescribed medications that, unbeknownst to them, were making their symptoms worse. Many doctors who have been prescribing these drugs are unaware that these treatments—primarily ropinirole and pramipexole—are exacerbating the condition. Thankfully, this is about to change.

In September, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) released new clinical practice guidelines that recommend against these drugs (marketed as Requip and Mirapex, respectively) …

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Bridging worlds through the language of neurodiversity

Conditions
November 7, 2024

I spend most of my working hours trying to unlock superpowers. When I chose to pursue medicine—pediatrics, and later, developmental behavioral pediatrics—I didn’t realize I would be learning to decode languages. These languages aren’t always spoken, yet over time, I’ve developed a sharp instinct for reading them. Every time I step into an exam room, my task is to slowly unravel how a child sees the world, communicates with it, …

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How journaling transforms emotional turmoil into healing for caregivers [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 6, 2024
YouTube video

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We dive into the power of expressive writing with guest Aine M. Greaney, an accomplished writer. Aine shares her personal journey through caregiving, journaling, and emotional healing during a difficult time in her …

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Ensuring optimal functionality for IoT devices in outpatient care

Tech
November 6, 2024

From defibrillators and ventilators to infusion pumps and dialysis equipment, Internet of Things (IoT) medical devices significantly enhance outpatient care. Patients can record and send measurements remotely, eliminating the need for follow-up visits. At the same time, these devices help understaffed outpatient facilities that might not have the capacity to send caregivers for home visits. However, to ensure the optimal functionality of these IoT outpatient devices, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) …

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The challenges and triumphs of self-publishing in a conventional world

Physician
November 6, 2024

Over the past several months, I’ve’ been busy assembling various essays into a book—essays I’ve written and published here on KevinMD and elsewhere. The manuscript is now complete. Here’s a brief pitch I’ve given to about two dozen publishers (I do not have an agent):

Dear Acquisitions Editor:

I am writing to ascertain your interest in publishing my manuscript tentatively titled Narrative Rx: A Quick Guide to Narrative Medicine for Students, Residents, …

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Sick and tired of practicing medicine? Burnout, disappointment, and low income you can’t seem to overcome?

Finance
November 6, 2024

Noticing the local physicians who practiced in your area, stayed for two years or so, and then moved to a “different place to practice” (cover story—meaning they never made enough income to stay in practice in your area) involves thousands of physicians across our nation annually, which has led to the physician attrition crisis today. Not enough money or income is most often the cause.

You may not know that you …

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Are you taking FDA-unapproved drugs without knowing it?

Meds
November 6, 2024

If you think the labyrinth of U.S. government agencies and congressional subcommittees is complicated, be grateful you are not a pharmacy owner! Just to get your drugs reimbursed, you must navigate a river of upstream, midstream, and downstream suppliers, health plans and insurers, employers and other payers (including federal and state governments), rebate aggregators, “white and brown baggers,” and an alphabet soup of entities/concepts called things like PSAOs, GPOs, NADACs, …

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Is staying worth it? How one physician broke free from the “sunk cost fallacy” [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 5, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with anesthesiologist Kolleen Dougherty as she reflects on her experience of career burnout after two decades at a Level 1 hospital. Kolleen shares the internal struggles that kept her in …

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Shortcomings of plaintiff attorneys in Byrom vs. Johns Hopkins

Physician
November 5, 2024

As shown in my earlier post, when prosecuting Byrom vs. Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital with inductive reasoning, as is traditional, the medical intervention is compared to the standard of care in a very general and subjective way. The medical intervention “more likely than not” departs from the standard of care. “More likely than not” corresponds to a level of confidence of around 51 percent and a type-1 error of …

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Leveraging your medical career for long-term wealth building

Finance
November 5, 2024

As physicians, we spend years mastering our craft—learning how to diagnose, treat, and care for patients. But there’s another area that demands mastery if we want to secure our futures: wealth building. The truth is, despite the high earning potential that comes with a medical career, far too many doctors retire with less than they imagined. Why? Because earning is one thing, but building sustainable wealth that lasts is an …

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How abortion laws turned our family vacation into a life-or-death dilemma

Conditions
November 5, 2024

This past summer, we planned a family vacation with our two adult daughters and their significant others to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The trip was scheduled for July 6. After we planned our vacation, our older daughter announced her pregnancy, and to our surprise and delight, she was expecting twins! She consulted with her OB/GYN and was permitted to go on the trip under the condition that she …

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How to spot safe supplements: What you need to know about Good Manufacturing Practices [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 4, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Alisa Sano, a public health auditor, to explore the world of dietary supplements and the critical role Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) play in ensuring product safety and quality. Alisa …

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How a standardized agreement could end the preceptor shortage

Education
November 4, 2024

A few years ago, my college-age sons utilized the Common App for college applications. It’s a logical and brilliant concept: one online application that students can use to apply to multiple colleges and universities at once. And it’s accepted by thousands of colleges and universities worldwide. I remember thinking, “Why aren’t we doing this for nurse practitioner (NP) programs?” It seemed like a great solution, so I decided to research it.

Anyone …

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The gifts of sobriety: Navigating career disappointments with grace and resilience

Physician
November 4, 2024

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
—Victor Frankl

I celebrated three years of sobriety earlier this year. It’s been a long, circuitous path, marked by seeking help, practicing acceptance, and diligently working a twelve-step recovery program.

Brené Brown, who’s been sober for twenty-seven years, shared in a 2019 article that her sobriety …

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Voting from the hospital: How emergency ballots give patients a voice

Policy
November 4, 2024

Voting is one of the most fundamental rights in our democracy, and yet it can be incredibly challenging. Getting to your polling station, waiting in line, remembering to request your absentee ballot, checking your voter registration status—it is not a straightforward process. If you suffer from an unexpected illness or injury and find yourself hospitalized, it can feel impossible to make your voice heard and participate in an election. Fortunately, …

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The derm identity crisis at social events

Physician
November 4, 2024

Whenever I attend a social event, at least 10 to 20 percent of the attendees (second- or third-level friend or family connections) come to me with casual consultation requests.

To me, casual consultation requests are kind of similar to advertisements on free apps, with one difference: the time after which the skip button surfaces is highly variable and can be followed by multiple ads with no rhyme or reason.

What this does …

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How big business and government are shaping physician careers [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 3, 2024
YouTube video

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We sit down with Tod Stillson, a family physician and entrepreneur, to discuss how physicians can regain control of their careers in a system designed to push them toward traditional employment. Tod shares …

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Prevention is the key to saving lives: What the pandemic taught us

Policy
November 3, 2024

An excerpt from Prevention First: Policymaking for a Healthier America.

Little did I know that when Prevention First was first published in December 2019, a novel virus with pandemic potential had begun to stealthily spread in China. The subsequent global COVID-19 pandemic resulted in nearly 7 million deaths, exacerbated long-standing health challenges, and led to life expectancy declines around the globe.

With over 1.1 million American lives lost during the COVID-19 …

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The shocking truth behind the DEA’s role in America’s pain crisis and doctor prosecutions

Physician
November 3, 2024

The United States federal government is a single entity, despite its three equal branches having more heads than a hydra and more arms than Mahakali. One part of that federal government is not supposed to create and propagate standards that another part arrests you for following, as confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Gonzales v. Oregon. When it comes to the criminalization of medicine by the DEA and other …

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