KevinMD.com

August 8, 2026Aug 8, 2026

A recent JAMA Pediatrics article concludes that the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) is "generally not required" for diagnosing autism in young children. The authors report 90 percent agreement between a clinician's initial diagnosis and the diagnosis made after reviewing…

A recent JAMA Pediatrics article concludes that the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) is “generally not required” for diagnosing autism in young children. The authors report 90 percent agreement between a clinician’s initial diagnosis and the diagnosis made after reviewing ADOS results. They argue that experienced developmental-behavioral pediatricians (DBPs) can diagnose autism accurately without structured tools.

That conclusion may hold inside the eight academic centers included in the study. It …

Conditions and diseases

Smoking cessation billing is revenue your practice misses

Edward Anselm, MD

August 8, 2026Aug 8, 2026

Although people who smoke cigarettes say that clinicians routinely advise them to quit smoking, this is not reflected in the studies of electronic medical records, pharmacy claims, or medical claims. A recent article in the American Journal of Managed Care reported that only 1 percent of outpatient office visits at an academic medical center billed for tobacco treatment. A repeat of the same study design published in …

The Podcast by KevinMD

When good parenting looks different across cultures [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

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Two families raise their kids in completely different ways. Both are doing it right. So why do clinicians so often assume one of them is doing something wrong? Najat Fadlalla, a developmental behavioral pediatric fellow, returns to unpack how cultural bias creeps into parent coaching, the first-line, evidence-based approach for children with or at risk of ADHD. This episode is …

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Medical education

How pharmacology mnemonics got me through med school

Matthew Tao

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

It was almost midnight, and I was staring at the word oxybutynin like it had personally wronged me. I had seen it maybe twenty times that week. Flashcard, missed. Practice question, missed. I knew it treated something with the bladder,…

It was almost midnight, and I was staring at the word oxybutynin like it had personally wronged me.

I had seen it maybe twenty times that week. Flashcard, missed. Practice question, missed. I knew it treated something with the bladder, I think, and that it blocked some receptor, and past that, my brain just went quiet. Around me, the library was clearing out. I had two hundred more drugs to learn, …

Conditions and diseases

The Cartesian split in mental and physical health care

Ronke Lawal, MBA

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

The separation of mental and physical health care still rests on a Cartesian inheritance, the old assumption that mind and body are fundamentally different kinds of things, one physical and mechanical, the other immaterial and spiritual. That framework may have served a purpose in an era when medicine lacked the tools to explain what it could not measure, allowing physicians to attend to the body while matters of the mind …

Conditions and diseases

What patients get wrong about stem cell therapy for pain

Kayvan Haddadan, MD

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

A few months ago, a new patient walked into my clinic carrying a folder nearly two inches thick. She had undergone years of physical therapy, chiropractic care, epidural steroid injections, anti-inflammatory medications, opioid therapy, and consultations with multiple specialists. Before sitting down, she asked a question I now hear almost weekly: “Doctor, what about stem cells? I’ve heard they can regenerate my spine.”

It is a reasonable question and one that …

Health policy

The myth of free health care in Canada

Robert Allan Bear, MD

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

Discussions related to the strengths and weaknesses of the American health care system abound. When discussing the latter, some may argue that the American system should more closely mirror that of its northern neighbor, one that is described as publicly funded and that allegedly provides “free” and readily available health service to all citizens regardless of social status or financial means. Sadly, there is little truth in the above description. …

Read more…

The myth of free health care in Canada

Conditions and diseases

Why moral injury in health care outlasts the pandemic

Tomi Mitchell, MD

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

History deserves honesty. Years have passed since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with distance comes a natural desire to reflect on what happened. We should absolutely evaluate the decisions that were made. We should question policies, examine the…

History deserves honesty.

Years have passed since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with distance comes a natural desire to reflect on what happened. We should absolutely evaluate the decisions that were made. We should question policies, examine the evidence, and learn from our mistakes. That is how science grows, and health care improves.

But there is a difference between learning from history and rewriting it. Lately, I have watched with …

Medical education

Medical school application barriers fail Native people

Paul Begay

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

Everything medical schools believe about us seems wrong. Medical schools call us "Native American," but many of us dislike this word. The traditional among us refuse this colonial branding with every fiber of our being. Yet many people believe the…

Everything medical schools believe about us seems wrong. Medical schools call us “Native American,” but many of us dislike this word. The traditional among us refuse this colonial branding with every fiber of our being. Yet many people believe the media that says “Indian” is offensive and so they call us “Native American.” Ask yourself: Would a Ukrainian mother ever call herself Native Russian? Would a Palestinian man ever call …

Conditions and diseases

A survivor waits on testosterone after prostate cancer

Francisco M. Torres, MD

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

My testosterone level is 177 ng/dL. I am intimately familiar with this number, having checked it myself on my own laboratory slip, just as I have reviewed countless lab results for patients throughout my 35-year medical career. But this time,…

One year ago, I underwent a prostatectomy for low-grade, minimally aggressive prostate cancer. The surgery was successful, and the pathology results were reassuring. My …

Conditions and diseases

Saving a child’s permanent tooth after dental trauma

American Association of Endodontists

August 7, 2026Aug 7, 2026

When trauma threatens a child's permanent tooth A new electric scooter for a tenth birthday party. In the excitement of trying it out for the first time and demonstrating the speed to friends, the new rider doesn't notice the curb…

When trauma threatens a child’s permanent tooth

A new electric scooter for a tenth birthday party. In the excitement of trying it out for the first time and demonstrating the speed to friends, the new rider doesn’t notice the curb and goes flying over the handlebars. Landing face-first on the sidewalk, the upper lip and front teeth bear the brunt of the impact. This scenario is occurring with increased frequency, especially …

The Podcast by KevinMD

He spoke up in residency, then got walked out in front of his patients [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

Listen on Spotify · Apple Podcasts

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A doctor spoke up about problems in his residency, and months later he was walked out in front of his patients. In this episode, Vasilii Khammad, a physician and researcher who came to the United States as a Fulbright Scholar, shares what happened after he and fellow residents raised concerns about their training program. You will hear how the feedback …

Physician finance

The physician opportunity cost nobody puts on a bill

Karan Kanwar

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

Physicians are precise about the value of their time in exactly one context: when someone else is paying for it. In a contract negotiation that precision is real, the figure gets built from actual numbers, and nobody signs something that…

Then the negotiation ends. The same physician spends Tuesday evening at the kitchen table verifying insurance eligibility for the next morning’s schedule, and the …

Conditions and diseases

AHRQ grant terminations leave patients without answers

Timothy Lesaca, MD

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

Somewhere today, an ICU survivor is leaving the hospital. They survived septic shock. Respiratory failure. Multiple traumatic injuries. They are grateful to be alive. What they do not know is that the research designed to help them recover more safely…

Somewhere today, an ICU survivor is leaving the hospital. They survived septic shock. Respiratory failure. Multiple traumatic injuries. They are grateful to be alive.

What they do not know is that the research designed to help them recover more safely at home may never be completed.

In mid-July, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) began notifying researchers across the country that dozens of active research grants would be terminated. As …

Physician voices

Most medical malpractice lawsuits are meritless

Howard Smith, MD

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

The story of medical malpractice litigation in the United States is the endless struggle to find meaning. The United States is a litigious society. One out of every 230 Americans is a lawyer, and one out of every eight Americans…

The story of medical malpractice litigation in the United States is the endless struggle to find meaning.

The United States is a litigious society. One out of every 230 Americans is a lawyer, and one out of every eight Americans will be involved in litigation in one way or another and will need a lawyer. There are 40 million lawsuits per year. Between 20,000 and 85,000 are medical malpractice claims. …

Conditions and diseases

Maternal mental illness is still judged like witchcraft

Courtney Markham-Abedi, MD

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

Both lay dabblers and scholars of history repeatedly admonish us that history repeats itself. Historical context can help us understand and grapple with issues that have plagued and continue to plague humankind. The United States is not alone in having…

The United States is not alone in having a dubious record of misogyny and glaring inequities in the treatment of women and people of color. In recent decades, people have re-examined historical teachings through the lens of human rights, …

Conditions and diseases

Is asking the naive question a lost research skill?

Ronald L. Lindsay, MD

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

Medical fields don't evolve because someone discovers a new molecule. They evolve because someone notices something obvious that everyone else has learned to ignore. In developmental-behavioral pediatrics, what shaped my early career was four studies that ended up influencing the…

Medical fields don’t evolve because someone discovers a new molecule. They evolve because someone notices something obvious that everyone else has learned to ignore. In developmental-behavioral pediatrics, what shaped my early career was four studies that ended up influencing the field more than I expected. I didn’t set out to be a contrarian. I simply had a habit of asking questions that didn’t fit the standard research template.

Before I turned …

Conditions and diseases

Mood swings and bipolar disorder are not the same thing

Nebyou Belay, MD

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

Few psychiatric terms have migrated into everyday language as completely as "bipolar." It is now routinely used to describe irritability, emotional volatility, and rapid shifts in mood. Yet this widespread usage reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the condition itself. At…

Few psychiatric terms have migrated into everyday language as completely as “bipolar.” It is now routinely used to describe irritability, emotional volatility, and rapid shifts in mood. Yet this widespread usage reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the condition itself.

At the center of the confusion is a mismatch of scale. The public conception of “mood swings” involves rapid fluctuation, changes occurring over minutes or hours. These shifts may be mild, or …

Physician voices

The one-dimensional doctor is going extinct

Elizabeth Agyeman Prempeh, MD

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

I was recently watching the wedding and honeymoon vlog of one of my favorite content creators. Weddings are fascinating milestones. It is probably the only moment in your entire life where you get absolutely every person you love gathered together in one single room. You are the undisputed center of attention. All eyes are on you, and the atmosphere is pure, concentrated love.

But as I was watching those perfect moments …

Physician voices

The patient experience question physicians get wrong

Manoj Sreedharan, MD

August 6, 2026Aug 6, 2026

There is a question I have heard countless times throughout my career. "Was the patient happy?" It is usually asked with good intentions, but I have often wondered whether we are asking the wrong question. As physicians, our responsibility has…

There is a question I have heard countless times throughout my career.

“Was the patient happy?”

It is usually asked with good intentions, but I have often wondered whether we are asking the wrong question. As physicians, our responsibility has never been to make every patient happy. We cannot promise antibiotics for viral infections, unnecessary imaging for reassurance, or pain medications simply because they are expected. Good medicine often requires uncomfortable conversations …

Real physician voices, twice a week

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