KevinMD.com

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, …

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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 …

Wear your mask to protect your family

Ton La, Jr., MD, JD

Conditions

December 10, 2021

Below is a story a patient shared with me about how he went from being against mask-wearing to wearing one every day.

***

Last year, my mom died from stage 4 lung cancer. Before she passed, she received her transplant at this hospital, but it was too late for her.

Now, I am fighting cancer. Lymphoma. Stage 2 verging on Stage 3.

Before my diagnosis last summer, I never wore a mask. I walked …

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Wear your mask to protect your family

Why I devoted my life to preventing heart disease in women

Claire Donley, DO

Physician

December 10, 2021

I was a medical student learning to deliver babies, bringing new life into the world, as my mom’s life was fading away. I saw all the missed calls from Dad. I knew in my heart something terrible happened. She was in the ICU. Dad told me she had a heart attack. I flew to be with her. When I saw …

An obstetrician recommends midwifery care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 9, 2021

“By denigrating midwifery care, pathologizing the natural process of birth, and instilling fear of complications and pain, doctors persuaded women to give birth at the hospital under their care. By touting the benefits of anesthesia, forceps delivery, episiotomy and promoting in-hospital birth, doctors and hospitals were able to capitalize …

Endemic COVID-19 will be a cause for celebration

Robert Pearl, MD

Conditions

December 9, 2021

There was a time, not long ago, when COVID-19 was one of the scariest things on earth. In the summer of 2020, scientists were stunned as infections climbed and deaths spiked. They couldn’t say (exactly) how the virus spread, how deadly it was or how to cure it. ICU beds were filling up while officials scrambled to retrofit local …

Innovation in a rural gastroenterology practice using a farm

Savita Srivastava, MD and Christina Tennyson, MD

Physician

December 9, 2021

The cost of health care in the United States continues to rise, totaling over $3.8 trillion per year. Gastrointestinal diseases contribute significantly to health care costs and were recently estimated to be $135.9 billion annually. Innovation in gastroenterology has traditionally focused on expensive pharmaceuticals, devices, and new procedures. Many of the conditions and …

How the residency application process has changed forever [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 8, 2021

“The collective resiliency of the medical education community shone through the challenges of the past year. In medicine, physicians must adapt to all situations, and GME is no exception. Even in a pandemic, everyone adjusted as needed. Program coordinators and faculty were flexible and creative, while applicants remained passionate and …

The American public deserves more COVID-19 vaccine options

Tayson DeLengocky, DO

Conditions

December 8, 2021

Covaxin, an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and the only vaccine to have been proven effective against all variants including the Delta variant in a Phase III clinical study, deserves to be tested in clinical trials in the U.S. for potential CDC/FDA approval for use in the U.S.

As we are about to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the vaccine rollout against COVID-19, we would do well to remember that despite the progress …

Personal attacks and sexual harassment of physicians on social media [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 8, 2021

“This survey study examines the self-reports of personal attacks and sexual harassment of physicians through social media outlets. A total of 108 physicians (23.3%) reported being personally attacked on social media, with no significant difference between female and male physicians. In contrast, women were significantly more likely than men to report online sexual …

We have an obligation to keep firearms out of the hands of children

Shayla A. Sullivant, MD

Policy

December 8, 2021

We are saddened by another school shooting in America. Four lives were cut short, and one young man who was obviously crying out for help clearly did not get it.

There are so many pieces to this puzzle to examine. So many areas where we can improve. As a child psychiatrist, I am fully aware that our mental health system is broken. So many families seeking care run into barriers and …

The catastrophe of men’s health and how we can help

Judson Brandeis, MD

Conditions

December 8, 2021

A hundred years ago, women lived one year longer than men, but now they live five years longer than men. And things are getting worse. Currently, the lifespan of men in the U.S. is declining due to alcohol, opioids, and suicide. These trends need to change.

I take care of men. I’ve been a urologist for almost 25 years and have seen thousands of men as patients, many of whom have …

A medical student shares a story about language [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

December 7, 2021

“My mother screamed. It meant my father needed a doctor — now.

But why?

We just visited the hospital days before to refill his drugs. He would be better if he used the drugs. Magic drugs. That is what he called them. I stood up from the mat where I slept …

Health care technology innovation from COVID

Bela Desai

Tech

December 7, 2021

The provision of quality medical services is the main target that every health care provider aims at achieving. Medical practitioners should have effective technical skills to ease their service delivery to their clients regardless of the health care sector’s various challenges.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many government-imposed restriction measures had adverse effects in many sectors, including health care. Patients with comorbidities have a weak immune system, and …

Keeping a cancer diagnosis silent

Marc Braunstein, MD, PhD

Conditions

December 7, 2021

It is a seasonally cold fall evening in Long Island, NY, and I am standing in a field in the middle of what should be a darkened park. Still, I am truly amazed by how bright it is lit up by lanterns with different colors demarcating patients, families, and remembrances.

As an oncologist who treats blood cancers, this event, called Light the Night, sponsored by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, was …

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Keeping a cancer diagnosis silent