KevinMD.com

Medicare for all is dead because Democratic voters aren’t buying it

Health Policy

December 16, 2019

Fixing Obamacare and adding a public option is the health care policy territory first staked out by Democratic Presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Writing about Biden’s plan recently on my blog, I said:

If the Democrats capture the White House, keep the House, and take over the Senate, no matter who they elect as President, this Biden health care outline, not Medicare for all, will likely be the plan Democrats …

Read more…

Medicare for all is dead because Democratic voters aren’t buying it

We need to bring back the feel-good factor to medicine

Ikechukwu Mbonu, Jr. MD

Physician

December 16, 2019

Consider a medical trainee, in the second year of her medical training, who has made it a point to always show up early to work no matter the situation. She often times stays beyond the end of her shift to help out either her co-residents or juniors. She is having a bad week and uncharacteristically shows up late for rounds in the ICU. As expected, she is castigated in front …

We need physicians who advocate for patients’ best interests

Daniel Low, MD

Health Policy

December 16, 2019

As presidential hopefuls debate health care reform, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish statements rooted in fact from fiction. According to PolitiFact, only 27% of politicians’ media statements regarding health care — whether from Democrats or Republicans — are true or mostly true. Discerning the truth in a growing state of convolution is becoming increasingly difficult. In such a medical and political quagmire, it behooves health care professionals to …

What if people were only allowed to use food assistance dollars to buy healthy food?

Peter Ubel, MD

Health Policy

December 15, 2019

One of my elderly relatives was in line at the grocery store one day and saw the person ahead of him, charging what looked like a cart full of junk food to her food assistance card. My relative was incensed: Why, should his hard-earned tax dollars be used to pay for someone’s Cheetos?

Currently, one in seven Americans receives some kind of government assistance to pay for food. The largest …

Stop FGM: female genital massacre

Pankti P. Acharya

Conditions and Diseases

December 15, 2019

The Somalian government should be ashamed of condoning the widespread occurrence of female genital mutilation. According to UNICEF, 98 percent of women from the ages 15 to 49 have undergone FGM in Somalia from 2005 to 2014.

As defined by the World Health Organization, FGM is a procedure that removes or injures female genitalia for a non-medical purpose. This procedure has absolutely no health benefits for women. …

Read more…

Stop FGM: female genital massacre

A roadmap for physician career transition planning

Baird Brightman, PhD

Physician

December 15, 2019

Many physicians will decide they want or need to make a transition from the practice of clinical medicine to “something else” at some point during their career. Whatever the motivation for their job transition, most doctors appreciate a rational, structured process that enables then to get from where they are to where they want to be. Fortunately, there are some easily accessible resources that can add value to your work/career …

The burden of prior authorizations and denials in health care

Thejaswi K. Poonacha, MD, MBA and Fady Chamoun, MD

Physician

December 15, 2019

Prior authorization — a utilization management (UM) process used by health insurance companies to determine coverage for a prescribed procedure, service, or medication — is now becoming a mandatory requirement by the vast majority of large insurance companies.

While prior authorizations are pursued at the front-end for almost all planned medical services, there has also been a steep increase in denial of payment for services at the inpatient level for both …

Do evolving blood pressure guidelines apply to the geriatric population?

Steven Reznick, MD

Conditions and Diseases

December 14, 2019

One of the advantages of practicing clinical medicine, and seeing patients daily for many years, is you develop your own long-term study regarding certain medical health issues. In the area of hypertension, I have been taught by the best since my internship with pioneers such as Eliseo Perez Stable and Barry Materson at the University of Miami affiliated hospitals, Jackson Memorial Program, ensuring that their trainees were up to the …

What I learned from starting medical school in January

Gaelle Antoine, MD

Medical Education

December 14, 2019

I graduated from an international medical school this past spring. I’m currently in the midst of a preliminary year as an internal medicine resident at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, N.Y. Next year, I’ll start my dream residency in anesthesiology at Brown University.

Like many physicians, my journey to medicine has had its share of twists and turns. But my story is slightly different than the …

Navigating the holidays when you’re a caregiver for a loved one living with dementia

Miles J. Varn, MD

Conditions and Diseases

December 14, 2019

The holidays bring friends and family together for celebrations and the chance to reconnect with people we may not see regularly during the rest of the year. But for people who are the caregivers for a parent, spouse, partner, or other family member who is living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, the holidays can be more complicated.

Beyond the stress of continuing to provide care during an especially …

How to KonMari your academic life

Gita Suneja, MD

Physician

December 14, 2019

On the first day of 2019, the reality show Tidying Up debuted. The show features tidying expert Marie Kondo and is based on her international best-seller, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The 200-page manifesto details her approach to decluttering homes: discard belongings that don’t “spark joy,” then organize what remains into carefully designated spaces. The philosophy took the self-improvement world by storm, prompting an influx of …

Read more…

How to KonMari your academic life

The scents in the hospital are from diseases you’ll never forget

Yoo Jung Kim, MD

Medical Education

December 13, 2019

There’s a pivotal scene in the 2007 Pixar movie Ratatouille, in which the restaurant critic Anton Ego takes a first bite of the movie’s titular food. He is then whisked back to a moment in his childhood, during which his mom provides love and comfort through a helping of her homemade ratatouille. This scene is a homage to Marcel Proust’s seminal “Madeleine Episode,” as described In Search of Lost Time, published almost …

Patients with severe autism: medical and dental care in the community

Irene Tanzman

Patient

December 13, 2019

The pediatrician kept on telling me that everything was fine. What could possibly be wrong? His motor skills were right on time, if not a little early. He even had emerging problem-solving skills. He did things like push a chair up to a shelf to climb up and get what he wanted. Three decades later, he still does clever things that make me question why he is so impaired.

Unfortunately, there …

Seeking mastery in medicine

Philip A. Masters, MD

Physician

December 13, 2019

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

Regardless of specialty, medical practice is challenging in today’s health care landscape.

Increasing demands related to workload and job inefficiencies, an ever-increasing administrative burden, the consuming nature of health information technology, and personal and professional values that often conflict with the expectations of the …

Read more…

Seeking mastery in medicine

Easing a burden, one step at a time

Ellen Rand

Patient

December 13, 2019

The afternoon that I went for a walk with Linda* for the first time was one of the moments I’ve been proudest of as a hospice volunteer, odd though that may seem.

I’d first met Linda a few months prior to that, when the late fall and winter light made her and her husband Joseph’s small and cluttered apartment dark in the early afternoons. I was there mainly to visit Joseph, …

Read more…

Easing a burden, one step at a time

How predictive analytics help advance population health

Jay R. Zdunek, DO, MBA

Physician

December 12, 2019

Take 100 patients who are candidates for colorectal screening. We know that a group of them will try to avoid the procedure or postpone it for as long as possible. Evidence of this, for example, would be rescheduling appointments multiple times to later dates.

We also know that among this 100 is another group of people who need a colonoscopy more than others. A family history of cancerous polyps is a …

The tension between hospital administrators and medical residents

Eric Bressman, MD

Physician

December 12, 2019

One of the least motivating requests I received routinely as a new intern was something like, “… and can we make sure this is a discharge before noon?” I recall a particularly eager nursing manager surveying the resident teams on her unit to gauge our interest in arriving even earlier each morning (5 a.m., perhaps?) in order to prepare potential discharges before pre-rounding. We shared a nice laugh.

The indignity of a cancer that takes away bowel functions

Raymond Abbott

Conditions and Diseases

December 12, 2019

I first became John Dolan’s social worker following his colon surgery, surgery for removal of a very large cancerous tumor, the largest the experienced surgeon said he had ever seen. John was told he had about three months to live. So much for predictions! He lived another 16 months.

To the chagrin of his very large Catholic family, he was one of thirteen children; he was all the time rejecting their …

Compromise vs. greed in ending surprise medical bills

Robert Laszewski

Health Policy

December 12, 2019

There are few things in our health care system that are more unfair than surprise medical bills. Consumers think they have good coverage and are getting treatment in their health plan network only to get a huge unexpected bill in the mail because it turned out that something like the anesthesiologist at their recent surgery wasn’t covered.

How were they to know that? As you’re sitting on the gurney about to …

A physician’s favorite money quotes for the holiday season

Altelisha Taylor, MD, MPH

Physician Finance

December 12, 2019

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Thanksgiving dinner with my family, cool air that calls for cute winter clothes, and holiday festivities that invoke the spirit of love and positivity. As we embark on this season, inevitable holiday sales may tempt us more than we can imagine. In order to deal with this temptation and stay within our budgets, we may need a little motivation to …

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Most Popular

Past Week

Past 6 Months

Recent Posts