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American health care has a customer service problem

Physician

April 7, 2016

No, customer service in the U.S. is terrible when it comes to health care. No, the customer service in the U.S. health care system is horrendous. No, health care has the worst customer service of any industry in the U.S.

There. That seems about right.

What makes me utter such a bold statement? Experience. I regularly hear the following from people when they come to my practice:

“You are the first doctor who …
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American health care has a customer service problem

A refreshing day of real doctoring

Hans Duvefelt, MD

Conditions

April 7, 2016

Back in my first year of blogging, I wrote a post, titled “A Day Without a Diagnosis,” about the way we now spend most of our time “managing” chronic diseases, some of which weren’t even considered diseases when I went to medical school.

That’s not how all my days go nowadays: A week ago I had a day of some very real doctoring.

My first patient of the day was …

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A refreshing day of real doctoring

This is what life is like for a gastroenterologist

Matthew Moeller, MD

Physician

April 7, 2016

An excerpt from What It’s Like to Become a Doctor: The Year-by-Year Journey From Medical Student to Practicing Physician, Greenbranch Publishing, 2016.

I passed the board exam in November 2011 to become a gastroenterologist. This is the last exam I have to take until I recertify in internal medicine in 7 …

Permission to take my patients’ plasma. It’s a harder decision than you think.

David Margolius, MD

Conditions

April 6, 2016

“I hereby authorize xxx, my patient, to donate plasma up to two times per week.”

I moved to Cleveland over the summer to start work as a full-time primary care internist. Within a few weeks, I started receiving a form in my mailbox that I had never seen during my training in San Francisco: an authorization request for my patients to donate their plasma.

By the time the fourth form came, I realized …

Patient-centered perioperative checklists to improve surgical care quality

Fred E. Shapiro, DO

Physician

April 4, 2016

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

With the recent expansion of ambulatory surgical centers, the number of outpatient surgical procedures has increased at an exponential rate. Coupled with the rise in volume has been the increasing complexity of procedures and underlying diseases of patients. The convergence of these factors …

Visualize the abnormal prostate with Medcomic

Jorge Muniz, PA-C

Conditions

April 3, 2016

In this Medcomic, we’ll visualize three common abnormalities of the prostate. Let’s meet our new friends. On the left is Burney and he could certainly benefit from a trial of antibiotics and an analgesic. The large fellow in the middle straining to urinate goes by the name of Turp. On the far right is Grampa Addy, currently dealing with the …

What surgeons aren’t saying about sex after hip replacement

Troy A. Miles, MD

Conditions

April 2, 2016

As far as follow-up appointments go, this one was routine. My 65-year-old patient had undergone hip replacement surgery two weeks prior, and we discussed her pain level, progress with physical therapy, and eagerness to return to everyday activities. But as she stood up to leave the exam room, I could tell there was something left unsaid. She stepped out the door then stopped, turned around, and leaned in close to …

How chaplains are a valuable part of the health care team

Rev. Sue Wintz

Education

March 31, 2016

As health care settings become more focused on patient experience and care for the whole person, issues of culture, diversity, personal beliefs, and values have come to the forefront. Staff are expected to deliver not only high-quality clinical care but to do so with compassion and care. Neither of these elements are new, but they are gaining attention as health care is increasingly measured on a number of quality indicators, …

Medical school has killed my soul. What can I do?

Pamela Wible, MD

Education

March 30, 2016

Hi Pamela,

I’m a medical student in the UK. Though I’ve only been in med school since September, it has already taken its toll on me. Before I started, I was so in touch with my emotions, spirituality, and nature. Now I feel so empty and desensitized. I hate that when faced with the horrible circumstances of another person, I just don’t feel …

Are today’s surgical residents poorly trained?

Skeptical Scalpel, MD

Education

March 29, 2016

A surgical resident writes:

I’m sure you have read several recent studies suggesting that current general surgery residents are poorly trained and unprepared for independent practice at the completion of residency.

My questions for you:

1. In general, do you agree that current general surgery residents are poorly trained and unable to operate independently at the completion of residency?

2. What should we do differently? I personally don’t feel that “more simulation activities,” which …

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Are today’s surgical residents poorly trained?

Why the best administrators are doctors and nurses

Suneel Dhand, MD

Physician

March 29, 2016

Over the last several years since I graduated from residency, I’ve worked in many different hospitals up and down the east coast. These have ranged from large urban medical centers to rural community outposts. In all of these places I’ve felt the inevitable conflict that exists between physicians and administrators — to varying degrees.

It almost seems like a rite of passage that the world of clinical medicine and administration are …

Doctors are more than just skilled workers. Here’s why.

Hans Duvefelt, MD

Physician

March 28, 2016

Physicians today are increasingly viewed and treated as skilled workers instead of professionals. The difference is fundamental and lies at the root of today’s epidemic of physician burnout.

Historically, there have been three learned professions: law, medicine, and theology. These were occupations associated with extensive learning, regulation by associations of their peers, and adherence to strong ethical principles, providing objective counsel and service for others.

Learned professionals have, over many centuries, worked …

Why we need hope in health care

Val Jones, MD

Physician

March 28, 2016

Hope is a tricky thing. On the one hand, false hope can lead patients to opt for painful, futile treatments at the end of life. On the other, unnecessarily bleak outlooks can lead to depression and inaction. When health is at stake, presenting information with the right amount of hope can guide patients away from both suffering needlessly and/or succumbing to treatable disease.

I was reading a sad story about a …

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Why we need hope in health care

What is wrong with medical students today?

Ahmad Yousaf, MD

Education

March 28, 2016

This question has been circulating in the academic medical world for years. As an intern and resident, I would hear complaints about how “unready” they seemed. The grievances often include adjectives like ill-prepared, lazy, or uninterested. The complaints have burgeoned over time, and the examples are numerous in my institution: Students show up late to rounds with coffee in their hands; one med student had the gall to go directly to the attending and …

This doctor quit medicine. But she really tried to make it work.

Rebecca Reyes, MD, JD

Physician

March 27, 2016

It is exactly 49 steps from my bedroom to my garage. It is a 23-mile drive to the hospital and 75 steps to the unit. It takes 10 seconds to walk to the nursing station. I can measure what it takes to get me to work each morning with absolute certainty. I know because I have measured it a million times hoping something will prevent me from reaching my destination. …

This doctor orders pregnancy tests on men. You’re probably doing it too.

Dennis Bethel, MD

Tech

March 27, 2016

I order pregnancy tests on men. In fact, I do it pretty frequently.

Now before you go and question my professional competency, let me assure you that I went to a good medical school. I also completed a four-year residency in emergency medicine at a top-notch residency program. I was board-certified less than one year after finishing and have maintained that status ever since.

Despite this, I still order pregnancy tests on men.

Perhaps …

From volunteer to family physician: A medical student’s journey

Farrah Fong

Education

March 27, 2016

Sometimes, it’s difficult to recall that single defining moment or person that sends you on the path you’re meant to take in life. I was fortunate in that I found that experience halfway through my undergraduate career at the University of California, Davis. I had recently lost my grandmother; although I’d wanted to help, all I’d been able to do at the hospital was translate for her. That overwhelming sense …

Naturopaths should be restricted from treating children. Here’s why.

Britt Marie Hermes, ND

Physician

March 24, 2016

You may be aware of Ezekiel Stephan, a 19-month-old boy, who died in 2012, after his parents chose home remedies and naturopathy for the treatment of viral meningitis. The parents currently are on trial in Canada for failing to provide the necessities of life.

Over the course of many days, Ezekiel’s condition rapidly deteriorated, but his parents chose to “give him as much natural product as possible,” including syrup, frozen …

Why doctors kill themselves

Pamela Wible, MD

Physician

March 23, 2016

Pamela Wible, M.D., takes on physician suicide in her TEDMED talk (delivered on November 18, 2015). Learn more about Dr. Wible and her talk at TEDMED.com. Full transcription below:

I love the three things that people fear the most: death, disease, and public speaking. Here’s how it all started. At four, I was so talkative (and bossy) no babysitter would stay with me. So I tagged along with Mom, …

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Why doctors kill themselves

A medical resident commits suicide. Here’s how one colleague mourns.

Anonymous

Physician

March 23, 2016

In the hour after I heard the news, I experienced the full spectrum of typical reactions to a physician suicide.

One end of the spectrum came from the attending in a clinic, who when asked if the residents could go home and mourn their friend who just committed suicide, proceeded to tell me a story of how when her grandpa died before a final exam in medical school. She decided to …

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