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Think TikTok is smarter than me? Then I’m not the right doctor for you.

Physician

November 27, 2021

“I don’t think I am the right doctor for you.”

In over 20 years of practice, I had never uttered those words before this year. Now, as my medical assistant of 20 years remarks, almost two years into the pandemic, I say it almost daily.

I like to think I am a good physician and listener, spending most of the outpatient visit time trying to understand what it is that the patient …

Loneliness and hopelessness are all around us, yet we are missing it

Andy Lamb, MD

Physician

November 27, 2021

It was dark as we entered a crumbling stone building, a one-room 15’ x 15’ structure. No electricity, no running water, no amenities, we assume “we all have.” I was leading a medical team to the poorest country in Europe, Moldova, a country I had come to know and love well. The team had finished a busy day in the clinic. Before going to dinner, I wanted to make a …

Will the COVID Omicron variant change the world again? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 27, 2021

“The variant keeps me up at night a little bit because it has 32 mutations in the spike protein, in contrast to the Delta mutation.

But it’s not just the mutations. In terms of biological plausibility, it’s plausible that it could be more evasive against immunity. Not just vaccines, but …

Grieving our collective loss with compassion [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 26, 2021

“Cultivating compassion for ourselves and others is a practice in which we release judgment, anger and heal our emotional wounds. We can then move forward to a version of a better world where we have evolved to a new beginning. Change is always happening, and that is our constant. What …

What medicine can learn from the antiwork movement

Brendan James Flanagan, MD

Physician

November 26, 2021

A record number of Americans are choosing to quit their jobs. This phenomenon has been termed The Great Resignation by economists. The reasons for the Great Resignation are multifactorial and a subject of great debate, but some insight can be gleaned from the rise of a movement that has been called ‘antiwork’. This movement is probably best embodied by the immensely popular /antiwork Reddit forum, where aggrieved employees share stories …

To Aaron Rodgers, from a physician and Packers fan [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 25, 2021

“Mr. Rodgers, I’m glad you’re feeling well. This isn’t altogether unsurprising given your younger age and elite physical fitness (though cases in young unvaccinated people can and have become severe) and I hope you continue to feel well as you quarantine. The medical and scientific community works on data, lots and lots of …

To my patient who is going to lose her hair from chemotherapy

Farhan S. Imran, MD

Conditions

November 25, 2021

I understand that the biggest fear you have about going through chemotherapy is losing your hair. I just want to tell you. You will be fine. Trust me.

I know it’s barbaric. Why don’t we have medicines to treat cancer that will not make you lose your hair in this day and age? Strange, right? But science has its limits. Work is being done on finding such …

Cancer provided an unexpected silver lining

Erin O'Laughlin, DO

Conditions

November 25, 2021

When I first met her, I perceived she was nervous. I could sense the doctor skepticism. She simply had a negative aura about her. An Eeyore, if you will. A “no” person. A drag.

To my absolute non-surprise, she declined all screenings that a woman of her age is recommended to get. No labs. No pap. No mammogram. No flu shot.

I wondered why she had even come to the doctor.

I think …

Ignoring jaw pain comes at too high a price [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 24, 2021

“The COVID-19 pandemic challenged health care systems and patients’ personal economic capacity, leading to approximately six million adults losing their dental insurance. Additionally, the World Health Organization and the American Dental Association recommended dentists to limit their practices to emergency and urgent dental care.

In the list of these diagnoses requiring …

How Prior Authorization Fatigue Syndrome impedes asthma care

Daniel F. Soteres, MD, MPH

Physician

November 24, 2021

I’m writing this case report to raise awareness about a condition plaguing the health care system. The condition is Prior Authorization Fatigue Syndrome (PAFS). This condition is the direct result of the circuitous process of prior authorization (PA).

I am the physician owner of a medium-sized allergy practice in Southern Colorado. In our clinic, we spend many hours navigating the PA system to obtain approval for a range of health conditions. …

Anger toward the unvaccinated will only cause more harm

Stephanie Sun, MD

Physician

November 24, 2021

Even though COVID infection rates are decreasing, health care providers are still struggling with how to handle unvaccinated patients. Last month, a Colorado hospital system, UCHealth, stated it won’t provide transplants to patients who choose to remain unvaccinated. In August, a family doctor in Alabama posted a sign refusing to see patients who are unvaccinated against COVID.

It’s not just an issue of ethics — …

How to end the misinformation pandemic

Ellen F. Foxman, MD, PhD

Physician

November 24, 2021

Like any stressor, COVID-19 has revealed great strengths in science and medicine. But it exposed weaknesses that could have been tolerated before but now are untenable.

Perhaps the best example of both is COVID vaccines — the success they have had against the COVID pandemic and the fuel they have provided for an equally dangerous pandemic: the misinformation pandemic.

There was no guarantee that a COVID vaccine would even be possible, and …

Read more…

How to end the misinformation pandemic

A doctor turned Hollywood actor on physicians who struggle with suicidal ideation [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 23, 2021

“Thanks for gathering today in this anonymous detached space. Since it’s unlikely that we’ll ever publicly convene in a circle on metal folding chairs, I’m reaching out through this letter. You can peruse this in private and perhaps see a piece of yourself here.

As a non-practicing physician who speaks …

Health care has crossed into a realm of moral injury and systemic collapse

Anonymous

Physician

November 23, 2021

Recently I have been more quiet than usual. Less writing. Less fire and brimstone. Quiet, at least for me. But anyone who is paying attention knows that when the most passionate and the most invested get quiet, something is truly amiss. Whether it be a looming threat or a very real and present crisis is unknown, but the fact remains that in that silence lives the very real possibility of …

Bringing the Hippocratic Oath into the field of venture capital and entrepreneurship

Navin Goyal, MD

Physician

November 23, 2021

An excerpt from Physician Underdog.

When investors make the decision to invest, there is something deeper that occurs outside of the capital. A foundation of empowerment is built, and the founders have an edge now over others that didn’t get investment. This comes back to how powerful venture capitalists can be, because they have the ability, through their endeavors, …

“Take it or leave it” is not negotiation but coercion

Paul Pender, MD

Policy

November 23, 2021

“Take it or leave it” is not negotiation but coercion.

Physicians have been subject to this tactic for much too long. As an ophthalmologist in clinical practice for nearly four decades, I experienced too often what a recent author on KevinMD described as a one-sided arrangement with a health insurance company. “Here is the fee schedule. Here is the document to sign.” End of story.

If you object to the terms of …

Should you stay or leave medicine? [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 22, 2021

“I left my primary care practice earlier this year to focus on life coaching. Why did I leave? Because I wanted to do more and make a bigger impact. I remember how eager I was to complete medical training as I approached the light at the end of the tunnel. …

How to address the mental health fallout of climate change

Rishab Chawla

Policy

November 22, 2021

An existential crisis

On August 9, the 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report made public what many had feared. Global temperature warming to 1.5 C is all but inevitable by 2040 — even by the most optimistic scenarios — unless radically drastic steps are taken to end the use of fossil fuels.

Severe weather events such as California wildfires and Atlantic hurricanes of the past …

What change are you resisting? What should you deliberately practice?

Erin Maslowski, MD

Physician

November 22, 2021

My 13-year-old daughter inspired this article. If you parent a middle school volleyball player, you know that overhand serving is the holy grail of the game at that level. My daughter has a solid underhand serve that works well for her, but a consistent overhand serve would give her a big boost. To my consternation, she prefers to practice passing, i.e., bumping the ball back and forth. Why would she …

Why economics is the best pre-med major [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

November 21, 2021

“Economics taught me that I didn’t have to culture cells in a dish to do interesting and life-changing work. I built a habit of being inquisitive and intellectually curious about the world around me because I learned in undergrad that our human, flawed world contains elegant experiments, puzzling oddities, and …

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