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When language becomes the barrier: IMGs and autism diagnoses

Conditions and Diseases

February 9, 2026

I once left grand rounds with a donut and a fake pager buzz because I couldn’t understand the speaker, who often was a natural Mandarin or Arabic speaker. Humor aside, this was not just my problem; it was a systemic failure.

I have spent decades in developmental-behavioral pediatrics, and one truth has never changed: Communication is the currency of medicine. Without it, trust collapses.

International medical graduates (IMGs) are vital to our …

Simple choices prevent chronic disease [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 8, 2026

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Internal medicine physician Shirisha Kamidi discusses her article “Small habits, big impact on health.” Shirisha explains why prevention is often more powerful than treatment when addressing conditions like diabetes and hypertension. She …

The American Board of Internal Medicine maintenance of certification lawsuit: What physicians need to know

Brian Hudes, MD

Physician

February 8, 2026

The tension between physicians and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has simmered for a decade. What began as a professional debate over maintenance of certification (MOC) has evolved into a broader question of fairness, autonomy, and accountability. Now, the courts are involved, and the legal battles are revealing as much about the profession’s frustration as they are about the structure of American medicine.

A landscape of lawsuits

Since 2018, multiple …

Charles Bonnet syndrome: Why the blind see hallucinations

Ceres Alhelí Otero Peniche

Conditions and Diseases

February 8, 2026

Today I awoke feeling hopeless, disconnected from my body and my thoughts. All I could sense was the void that my vision loss represented. I kept thinking how beautiful it would be to see clearly, as I opened my eyes to a world submerged in gray fog. Suddenly, the room began to distort. The shadows slowly transformed into figures, men and women trying to pull off my legs were manifesting …

Physician weight loss strategy: Why willpower isn’t enough in 2026

Archana Reddy Shrestha, MD

Physician

February 8, 2026

Shortly after Halloween, I hid my daughter’s candy haul.

Not because candy is evil nor because I’m trying to ban sugar from our house. But because I kept finding candy wrappers in random trash cans, and I realized that having a giant bag of candy sitting out was just too tempting for my family.

We have a similar rule with ice cream. We don’t buy it at the grocery store. If we …

The health insurance crisis 2026: What Kentuckians need to know

Susan G. Bornstein, MD, MPH

Health Policy

February 8, 2026

The health insurance crisis has finally entered the public consciousness. 200,000 to 350,000 Kentuckians are expected to lose their coverage as a result of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Commercial insurance carriers have already substantially increased premiums in response to market uncertainty.

Meanwhile, Congress failed to act before the end of the year to extend the expiring enhanced premium tax credits that help millions of Americans afford health insurance …

Weaponizing food allergies in entertainment endangers lives [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 7, 2026

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Leading advocate for airline safety measures to protect food-allergic passengers Lianne Mandelbaum discusses her article “When TV shows use food allergy as murder.” Lianne examines the dangerous trend in popular media where …

Geriatric diabetes management: Why strict A1c targets can harm seniors

George James

Conditions and Diseases

February 7, 2026

According to the CDC, nearly 1 in 3 Americans over age 65 live with diabetes. However, our health care system treats diabetes as if all adults are metabolically and functionally the same. In their attempt to maximize glycemic control, it’s not uncommon for elderly patients to experience hypoglycemic episodes, resulting in falls and confusion among other issues, exacerbating other health conditions while taking a mental and emotional toll on …

Why progression independent of relapse activity is the silent driver of disability in multiple sclerosis

Andreas Muehler, MD, MBA

Conditions and Diseases

February 7, 2026

For too long, multiple sclerosis (MS) has been described with an air of quiet fatalism, a chronic, debilitating disease managed primarily by reducing relapses, but not fully addressed in terms of its continuous, underlying disability progression. This smoldering process often is not easily visible because of its progressive nature. Patients are told to manage expectations, while clinicians are taught to define success by the absence of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) …

Why medical school DEI mission statements matter for future physicians

Aditi Mahajan, MEd, Laura Malmut, MD, MEd, Jared Stowers, MD, and Khaleel Atkinson

Medical Education

February 7, 2026

When you were applying to medical school, how did you decide which programs to consider? After filtering by stats and geography, you likely browsed school websites. Which ones stood out to you? Did any reflect your identity, align with your values, or feel like a place where you’d truly belong?

Mission statements, particularly those focused on diversity, are often the first indication to applicants that a school values them not just …

A physician’s quiet reflection on January 1, 2026

Dr. Damane Zehra

Conditions and Diseases

February 7, 2026

Over the past few days, I have read numerous articles reflecting on 2025: what people achieved, what they lost, how many books they read, and how they touched the lives around them. I found myself lingering on them, thinking, reflecting. But today, I want to pause on something closer to home: my first day of this new year, January 1, 2026.

I am sitting in the library, one of my favorite …

AI censorship threatens the lifeline of caregiver support [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 6, 2026

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Certified coach and medical educator Kathleen Muldoon discusses her article “AI moderation of online health communities.” Kathleen shares the harrowing personal story of having her social media account disabled when an algorithm …

Demedicalize dying: Why end-of-life care needs a spiritual reset

Kevin Haselhorst, MD

Physician

February 6, 2026

If life is what we make it, then the end of life can be understood as a spiritual journey rather than a medical pursuit. We demedicalize dying by distancing ourselves from practices that use hope as consent (prolonging life through reflexive hospitalizations, procedures, or antibiotics that offer little dignity to those already living with serious illness).

Every medical decision poses a fundamental question: Is this the beginning of the end, or …

Physician due process: Surviving the court of public opinion

Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD

Physician

February 6, 2026

A single screenshot. A leaked email thread. A one-star review. Then the verdict arrives fast. Faster than any investigation. Faster than any courtroom. Faster than any truth.

Recent reporting describes how physician and author Peter Attia faced immediate public fallout after the Justice Department released Epstein-related records that included extensive email correspondence. Dr. Attia apologized for the tone of those emails and denied criminal wrongdoing. Major outlets repeated selected lines. Social …

Spaced repetition in medicine: Why current apps fail clinicians

Dr. Sunakshi Bhatia

Physician

February 6, 2026

In the high-stakes world of medical education and lifelong clinical practice, there is a constant battle taking place: the struggle between the human brain and the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve.

The science of memory is settled. Dozens of studies confirm that spaced repetition consistently outperforms traditional “massed” study (cramming) for long-term retention. By reviewing a clinical concept just as it is about to slip from our neurons, we “hack” the brain into …

When the doctor becomes the patient: a breast cancer diagnosis

Sue Hwang, MD

Conditions and Diseases

February 6, 2026

An excerpt from From Both Sides of the Curtain: Lessons and Reflections from an Oncologist’s Personal Breast Cancer Journey.

The mammography waiting room always played HGTV. I had been in this space countless times before, having started routine screening at the age of 40. I always booked the first appointment of the day because I knew all too well how easily schedules could get backed up. Like clockwork, the tech …

My journey with fibroids and hysterectomy: a patient’s perspective

Sonya Linda Bynum

Conditions and Diseases

February 6, 2026

I am a 45-year-old Black woman. I learned in early 2025 I was going through perimenopause. As I experienced what was my new norm of mood changes, anxiety, migraines, and once again heavier periods, I found vitamins to help with some of my perimenopause symptoms, but not all. I decided to make an appointment with a gynecologist.

I made an appointment with the first available GYN since I hadn’t seen my …

Primary care offers unexpected financial and emotional wealth [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 5, 2026

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Primary care physician Jerina Gani discusses their article “The hidden rewards of a primary care career.” Jerina challenges the common narrative that general practice is merely a stepping stone filled with paperwork …

Social work accountability: the danger of hindsight bias

Gerald Kuo

Conditions and Diseases

February 5, 2026

When a child dies under the supervision of the care system, the public response is often immediate and visceral. Media headlines demand answers. Prosecutors search for accountability. And very quickly, attention narrows to a single figure: the frontline social worker.

In recent child protection cases, the dominant questions have sounded strikingly similar. Why did they not notice earlier? Why did they not visit more often? Why did they not intervene?

These questions …

When diagnosis becomes closure: the harm of stopping too soon

Ann Lebeck, MD

Physician

February 5, 2026

Medicine prides itself on early diagnosis and decisive treatment. We are trained to recognize patterns, apply categories, and follow pathways designed to reduce uncertainty. This approach saves lives. But there is a quiet point at which it can also cause harm.

That moment occurs when diagnosis becomes closure.

I recently spoke with a young woman in her 20s with endometriosis. She had done everything medicine asked of her: sought care, underwent surgery, …