When protocols fail: lessons from Trump’s attempted assassination and medical errors

Physician
July 16, 2024

The breakdown in security leading to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump can be compared to the multifactorial failure inherent in medical errors. Both scenarios involve complex systems where multiple layers of defense and prevention are designed to avoid catastrophic outcomes. When these layers fail, it often results from a combination of human error, systemic issues, and procedural flaws.

Both presidential security and health care systems are highly complex and require …

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It’s time for physicians to reclaim their voice and identity

Physician
July 16, 2024

Kim Downey

Wherever conversations surrounding health care occur, similar frustrations emerge, whether I’m speaking with a physician in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Australia, or New Zealand. I’ve recently been in dialogue with Olivia Morris, co-founder and CEO of Verity Barrington and Doctors Living in Ireland. Olivia has been a global physician advocate for the past ten years. Given that role, along with being married to a doctor, Olivia has acquired …

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Humanizing medicine in a high-tech world [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 15, 2024
YouTube video

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In this episode, we sit down with Francisco M. Torres, an interventional physiatrist and author of Beyond Diagnosis: Perspective in Medicine and the Human Experience. Join us as we explore the theme of …

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How do our own characteristics as doctors limit the change we can make in health care?

Physician
July 15, 2024

All around the world, health care systems are crumbling, resulting in less effective clinical care and damage to health care workers. We all recognize the need for change and want to see it. But could doctors’ psychological makeup hamper the achievement of the actual change we wish to see in our systems?

The nature of doctors

Worldwide, those who enter a medical career are intelligent and driven individuals. Throughout our training, we …

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Optimizing operations at doctors’ offices: the power of asset tracking

Finance
July 15, 2024

In the fast-paced environment of a doctor’s office, accuracy and operational effectiveness are paramount. Often bustling with activity, meticulous office coordination is needed to guarantee that every aspect runs smoothly. From managing patient records to ensuring the availability of medical equipment, the daily operations of health care facilities hinge on the seamless integration of various components. Every piece of equipment, every supply, and every record needs to be in the …

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Lung cancer statistics you need to know about nonsmokers [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 14, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Alice S. Y. Lee, an emergency physician and lung cancer survivor. Alice shares her journey from a nonsmoker to a lung cancer survivor, shedding light on the health disparities faced by Asian …

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How turning 50 and empty nesting sparked my academic surge

Physician
July 14, 2024

I can hear my husband chuckling from the cavern of journal piles and stacks of free conference tote bags he refers to as his home office. “I am looking at a graph of your publications,” he calls out to me as I putter around the house. An inauspicious start.

As I look over his shoulder at the laptop screen, he shows the tiny dot representing my singular publication—work I did as …

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Rewriting the rules: Achieving a million-dollar income in family medicine

Physician
July 14, 2024

According to the 2024 Doximity survey, the average annual compensation for a family physician is around $300,813. For 90 percent of family doctors, this is their reality—stuck in the matrix of traditional employment. They feel unloved, undervalued, and used by the system to feed the corporate cash register. I know because that is what I did for the first 15 years of my career. However, I discovered a better …

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Real-time cancer detection and the future of oncology

Conditions
July 14, 2024

An excerpt from Race for a Remedy: The Science and Scientists Behind the Next Life-Saving Cancer Medicine.

I like to compare diabetes and cancer. Both are chronic illnesses with a trend of increasing new cases globally over the past decades, and both are expected to be among the leading diagnoses in the world with an estimated one-half billion people living with either diabetes or cancer by 2040.

The similarities don’t end …

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From marathons to moderation: Rethinking endurance exercise

Conditions
July 14, 2024

When it comes to exercise, it is possible to get too much of a good thing. Regular participation in appropriate mild to moderate exercise is one of the most important habits for optimal health. The kind of detrimental excess endurance exercise I’m going to implicate includes marathon distance running, 100-mile bike rides, Iron Man/Half Iron Man triathlons, and other flat-out, pedal-to-the-metal exertions for more than an hour. Regrettably, I confess: …

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Health information censorship in prisons [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 13, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us as we explore the critical issue of carceral censorship and its impact on incarcerated individuals’ access to health information. Our guest is Brian Tuohy, an assistant professor of bioethics, who shares …

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How a negligent dentist almost killed my wife

Physician
July 13, 2024

An excerpt from Judas Dentistry: How Dentists Scorn Science, Break the Hippocratic Oath, and Wreck Their Patients’ Minds and Bodies.

Our kindly dentist almost killed my wife, Judy. During her late teens, she had a single front tooth destroyed in an auto accident. So this dentist carved the teeth on either side to support a bridge. When these died, he drilled and mummified them into “root canals.” As the years …

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Administrative harm is destroying the practice of medicine

Physician
July 13, 2024

“Rules and regulations, who needs them? Throw them out the door.”
— Graham Nash (lyrics), from “Chicago,” sung by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young

Business entrepreneur and billionaire Michael B. Kim recently was quoted as saying: “Leadership without ethics is a body without a soul.” Kim donated $25 million to his alma mater, Haverford College in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to start a new Institute for Ethical Inquiry and Leadership. His goal is …

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What would you save if your house was on fire?

Physician
July 13, 2024

The obvious answer is just that, of course. I would save my wife and myself. Everything else is replaceable—well, almost everything. Read on.

Twenty years ago, before the launch of the iPhone and before social media ruled the world, two of the most important things in any traditional American family’s house were the family Bible and the family’s pictures. I will leave the Bible and commentary on it for another question …

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Cinnamon versus brain cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and insomnia

Conditions
July 13, 2024

I’ve always adored cinnamon. Its aroma warms the cockles of my heart, and its flavor makes me feel as if I’m wrapped up in an old fairy tale. However, I was floored when I reviewed some of the latest research regarding the effects of cinnamon on brain health.

Cinnamon is a type of laurel plant (believe it or not, there are almost three thousand members of the Lauraceae family). Cinnamon happens …

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Overcoming diabetes and chasing dreams [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 12, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us as we sit down with writer Robin D’Amato to discuss her book, Sugar-Free. Robin delves into the inspiring journey of Ginny Eastman, a girl whose passion for basketball begins at six …

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Concierge medicine: exclusive access or equity dilemma?

Physician
July 12, 2024

When demand exceeds supply, a resource is limited. Allocating those resources “involves a tension between efficiency and equity.” The market has several ways to allot those limited resources, beginning with cost. For example, frequent flyer miles, a form of resource allocation, may not seem controversial, except to those getting on last, where there is no room for their carry-on. Health care is a limited resource for many reasons, and equity …

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Beyond traditional cancer treatment [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 11, 2024
YouTube video

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Join us as we delve into the growing interest in holistic approaches to cancer care with Wayne B. Jonas, a family physician. We explore the benefits of integrating complementary therapies, such as nutrition …

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