Adapting to survive: lessons from Blockbuster for primary care

Policy
March 27, 2025

Blockbuster was once a dominant force in the video entertainment industry, with thousands of stores and near-total market control. However, when digital streaming services emerged, Blockbuster was slow to respond, dismissing Netflix as a passing trend. By the time it recognized the shift in consumer preferences, it was too late – the company collapsed, unable to compete in the new era of on-demand entertainment.

Health care, particularly primary …

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Why doctors love AI scribes—and the risks they bring [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 26, 2025
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Urologist David Canes discusses his article, “Why AI scribes are changing medicine and the hidden risks you must know.” He shares insights from using AI scribes in over 3,000 clinical encounters, noting …

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How corporate greed and politics are destroying health care

Policy
March 26, 2025

In past decades, physicians practiced medicine. The majority were dedicated to patient well-being. They were paternalistic and decided what was in their patients’ best interests, and patients generally trusted their judgments. In the 1970s, ethicists concluded that patients and clinicians should make treatment decisions jointly. This position has been championed since then, despite multiple surveys demonstrating that more than 50 percent of patients prefer their physicians to be the decision-makers. …

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The silent grief of vanishing twin syndrome: Why words matter in health care

Conditions
March 26, 2025

Pregnancy loss is always a deeply personal and often devastating experience, but for those who experience vanishing twin syndrome (VTS)—where one twin or multiple fetuses are lost during pregnancy—the loss can be uniquely isolating. Unlike a traditional miscarriage, VTS is often discovered incidentally during an ultrasound, leaving many patients to process their grief in the absence of clear guidance, emotional support, or even acknowledgment from their health care providers.

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Normalizing male plastic surgery in Africa

Conditions
March 26, 2025

Aloma Isaac Junior, a Nigerian comedian popularly known as Zicsaloma, recently underwent rhinoplasty. This intervention exposed deep-rooted biases about masculinity, beauty, and body autonomy in Africa. Instead of curiosity or support, his decision was met with mockery, outrage, and accusations of self-hate.

This backlash reveals a cultural blind spot. Plastic surgery is often seen as an indulgence for women, while men are expected to accept their looks as they are. Medical …

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Protecting immigrant families: a pediatrician’s call to action [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 25, 2025
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Developmental pediatrician Fiorella Castillo discusses her article, “Advocating for immigrant children: a doctor’s perspective.” Fiorella shares her firsthand experiences supporting immigrant families as they navigate developmental disabilities like autism and ADHD in …

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The hidden cost of a medical career: Is it still worth it?

Education
March 25, 2025

In her KevinMD article, Janet Constance Coleman-Belin describes the overwhelming difficulties increasingly being seen by many during their medical education and now facing many more of our young, bright minds as they choose and migrate into their future life’s work.

I suggest that a majority of these difficulties are pressures witnessed and felt as these students begin to enter clinical workplaces—the same pressures being experienced by …

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The FDA’s outdated prescription rules are failing women and opioid users

Meds
March 25, 2025

An excerpt from Your Body, Your Health Care.

Tens of millions of American women—more than four out of five women who have had sexual intercourse—have used oral contraceptives, which are crucial for reducing unwanted pregnancies and the incidence of abortion. Obtaining a physician’s prescription can add up to $200 plus time and inconvenience to the cost of “the pill.” Nearly a third of American women who seek prescriptions for oral …

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Big pharma’s grip on health care: time for change

Meds
March 25, 2025

Everyone seems so scared of the word government regulation when it comes to health care. Why? In part, this is because those against regulations (everyone making money off health care) make sure to scare laypeople into equating such action with socialism. Fear of concept is not a good argument against regulating monopolies that are bankrupting millions of Americans. Pretty sure most Americans would be happy to have limitations placed on …

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Transforming patient care with motivational interviewing [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 24, 2025
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Gastroenterologist Steven Pearce, health care consultant Bruce A. Berger, and physician advocate Kim Downey discuss their article, “How motivational interviewing transforms patient care and outcomes.” They explore the transformative power of motivational …

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The power of forgiveness: How letting go transforms your life

Physician
March 24, 2025

Just imagine when you felt hurt or betrayed by a colleague, patient, staff member, friend, or family member. Now, picture life if you could somehow free yourself of that hurt, pain, or discomfort. This article will discuss the concept of forgiveness and how it applies to our medical practice.

Examples of forgiveness

A white male racist burned down a predominantly African American church. The arsonist was convicted and sentenced to prison. He …

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Beyond resilience: Confronting physician burnout as a chronic condition

Physician
March 24, 2025

Practicing medicine is an incredible privilege. Our rigorous training allows us to combine science and compassion to heal and support patients through both challenging and healthy times. However, this privilege often comes with significant challenges, such as burnout and other struggles. Many doctors feel burdened by the time spent on electronic health records, drowning in documentation for nearly six hours …

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The hidden struggle of women with rare diseases

Conditions
March 24, 2025

Rare diseases were not something I studied in any depth in medical school or residency.

It was my aunt, Dr. Vivian Shih, who first raised my awareness of this area of medicine. A nationally renowned researcher studying inborn errors of metabolism, her work reminded me of the biochemical pathways I had studied as an undergraduate. Though I trained at the same medical school where she worked, these conditions were …

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Essential skills for physician leaders in health care [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 23, 2025
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Health care executive Susannah Eastwick discusses her article, “Advancing health care through physician leadership: 5 skills for changing health care.” Susannah explores the evolving health care landscape in 2025, where physicians face …

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Cutting opioid use in half: a hospital’s pain management breakthrough

Physician
March 23, 2025

I’ve witnessed what’s possible when we rethink pain management. By implementing a multimodal assessment approach at my hospital, I achieved a 50 percent reduction in inpatient opioid use, measured in morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs). The Numeric Pain Scale (NPS)—that 0-10 score we’ve leaned on too much—drives overuse when it’s the only guide, and with the U.S. consuming 80 percent of the world’s opioids as just 4.4 percent of its population, …

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Why cancer care remains inaccessible for India’s poor

Physician
March 23, 2025

Cancer is a disease that demands long-term, resource-intensive treatment, posing an especially heavy burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In nations like India, where a significant portion of the population comprises daily wage earners, farmers, and small shop owners living in villages, the challenges are even more pronounced. For these individuals, a cancer diagnosis can feel like a death sentence—not just due to the disease itself but because of …

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Adventure as medicine: the wellness benefits of travel [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 22, 2025
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Physician Stacey Funt discusses her article, “The healing power of travel: How adventure transforms mind, body, and spirit.” Stacey explores how travel serves as a potent remedy for physical, emotional, and spiritual …

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From retail to medicine: a doctor’s journey through burnout and bureaucracy

Physician
March 22, 2025

Long ago, before I started practicing medicine, I worked in the retail sector. I was 15 years old when I earned my first real paycheck. Surely, I worked other odd and end jobs before that first “real job.” I mowed neighborhood lawns, shoveled snow off neighbors’ driveways, delivered newspapers—anything I could do to make a dollar or two. But those odd jobs were not “real jobs” with tangible or steady …

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Confronting the silent struggle: Physicians and the emotional toll of medical errors

Physician
March 22, 2025

If I were to bet that the majority of physicians are familiar with that pit in their stomach—that sinking feeling of dread that comes with recognizing things aren’t going well—I’d probably win that bet. Contrary to collective wisdom, Wu (2000) first formalized recognition that doctors involved in critical incidents need help too. Now, twenty-five years later, doctors are still held to a standard that eschews the idea of making mistakes. …

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How social media is shaping teen mental health and what we can do about it

Conditions
March 22, 2025

As social media’s influence has surged, so too has the debate over its effects on psychological well-being. Once envisioned as a means to connect communities and amplify self-expression, these platforms are now under scrutiny for their potential long-term impact on mental health—especially among adolescents.

During this critical stage of development, social interactions play a pivotal role in helping adolescents shape identity, influencing their sense of self and belonging. This …

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