Against medical advice: Patient leaves hospital despite heart attack diagnosis
Interior hospital: (Patient screaming and crying out as they are wheeled in through the ambulance bay and brought into a room …)
Doctor: What brings you in today?
Patient: You gotta help me, Doc … My chest hurts. I think I’m having a heart attack!
Doctor: OK, sir. We’re going to do a series of tests, including an EKG and chest X-ray, and give you aspirin.
Patient: Whatever you’ve got to do, I don’t …
Avoiding the curse of knowledge in health care
In the medical field, it’s easy for experienced professionals to fall into the “curse of knowledge” trap. This cognitive bias occurs when someone, having a deep understanding of a concept, assumes that others possess the same level of knowledge. While this is a natural human tendency, it can create significant communication gaps, especially in health care settings.
Understanding the concept
Doctors with extensive knowledge about medical conditions and treatments might inadvertently overestimate …
Lessons learned at the bedside: Stick with the basics
“Dance with the one who brought you.” This phrase was attributed to an iconic college coach. There have been lots of interpretations of this comment, but the coach basically said that when the big game is on the line, when the championship is at stake, you do not tinker with your personnel and your coaching strategy.
Stick with the basics that brought you to this point in the season.
Throughout our careers, …
Obesity management in rheumatology [PODCAST]
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Join us for a conversation with Zachary Fellows, a rheumatologist who spent nearly four years in private practice navigating the complex intersection of obesity and rheumatic diseases. Zachary shares his journey from giving …
Creating a subspecialty track for experienced hospitalists
A formal clinical track should allow experienced hospitalists to function as inpatient subspecialists: a so-called “focused practice in inpatient subspecialty.” This proposal makes sense on multiple levels.
First, there is a shortage of inpatient subspecialists, particularly in small community settings. Hospitalists, qualified and certified as inpatient subspecialists, could fill this gap.
Second, the practice of hospital medicine is an ideal launching pad for a focused practice in an inpatient subspecialty. Hospitalists are …
Sham peer review: Why is there no malpractice insurance for this?
It’s estimated that up to 10 percent of all peer reviews are “shams,” thus, it’s worth a few minutes of education so you’re not left grappling if you suspect you might be the target of one.
As physicians, we purchase malpractice insurance (or it’s provided by an employer) to protect us from patients who file suits claiming negligence or harmful treatment decisions. The tacit understanding is that we’ve worked hard …
Are you storing your medications wrong?
Today, I want to talk about how creative humans are. As physicians, we encounter patients with ideas that amaze us every day and make our lives interesting, to say the least. The best ones are often the elderly, who have years of experience and unique ways of getting things done that differ greatly from the current generation.
I came across an elderly patient in the office who had previously been diagnosed …
Pelvic floor disorders: myths vs. reality [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!
We welcome Carmen Fong, a colorectal surgeon, to discuss the often overlooked yet critical topic of pelvic floor dysfunction. Drawing from her extensive experience, Carmen shares insights from the Pelvic Floor Symposiums, the …
Save time with these EMR dot phrase tips every doctor should know
Dot phrases work like magic. Just type a few keystrokes, and poof—a full template appears! But how do you pick shortcuts that don’t interfere with your regular typing? And how do you remember all these shortcuts? Over the years, I’ve made tons of templates, each with its own shortcut. I’ll explain the system I use for memorable shortcuts that don’t mess with my regular typing.
What is a shortcut? A shortcut, …
Medical heroes of October 7: the story of Dr. Amit Frenkel and Soroka Hospital staff
An excerpt from Battles in White: October 7 attack: The story of the medical, nursing, and rescue teams.
Dr. Amit Frenkel is an intensive care physician at Soroka Hospital. He is married and a father of three, his wife is a psychiatrist, and his eldest son is a soldier serving in the south of the country. The family lives in Meitar, a small pastoral settlement a fifteen-minute drive from Soroka. In times of …
Inside Out 2: How new emotions mirror medical student struggles
The 2024 summer blockbuster film Inside Out 2 explores the complex emotions that first hit teenagers during puberty. Briefly, the five original emotions (from the first movie in 2015) that define the behavior of childhood Riley – Joy, Anger, Fear, Sadness, and Disgust – meet new emotions that allow Riley to grow further toward young adulthood. Unfortunately, the new emotions – Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui – threaten …
Surviving medical madness: a mother’s harrowing tale [PODCAST]
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Physicians’ access to maximum potential in medical practice has vanished
Practicing physicians have been extremely lucky over the last century to have survived financially in the health care system to the degree that they have today. Judging from my 25 years of medical practice research and 40 years of clinical medical practice experience, I have been watching the self-disintegration of most physicians’ value to the profession.
Your personal values become hostage to the Medical-Industrial Complex or Medical Deep State. Just the …
Private equity’s takeover of health care: a patient’s nightmare
As private equity (PE) plays a larger role in health care, we likely have a patient-centric image of who these individuals are and what these institutions do. But what does health care look like to PE, and what does health care do from their perch? While attending a housewarming party of an acquaintance who works in PE and specializes in GI clinic acquisitions, these questions were answered, and it was …
Quiet firing in medicine: my journey from burnout to freedom
As I sit in this dark room in an empty house in solitude, I still wonder how I got here.
I have been the subject of quiet firing that resulted in my mental and social health suffering. It soured my work relationships, consumed my day, made me an angry person to everyone, including my family, and gave me anxiety. It culminated in exactly what the system wanted: me leaving. It was …
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How knowledgeable patients face suspicion in medical care [PODCAST]
Privacy protection after death: an ongoing dilemma
Privacy protection does not cease to exist at death, as privacy laws protect information until 50 years post-mortem. So, why does the protected information of public figures often find its way into the public domain long before this embargoed period elapses, sometimes almost immediately after death?
Firstly, the primary question is: What defines a public figure? Some individuals are public figures long before their deaths, while others become public figures at …
Why meaningful patient connections matter in medicine
Connecting with another human being in a meaningful way allows a physician to practice the art and the science of medicine. Showing you care helps to gain trust, and helping to alleviate pain and suffering establishes a bond. When you give of yourself on behalf of your patient, as a caregiver you share something not many people get to experience—compassion-driven skill. Choosing a career in health care is most often …
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In-office cardiac CT scanners transform heart care in rural Mississippi
Mississippi holds a troubling distinction when it comes to heart health: Over a third of all deaths in the state are attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD), making it the leading cause of death. The state also grapples with one of the highest adult obesity rates in the United States, with nearly 40 percent of adults considered to be obese. The alarming statistics highlight the urgent …
Past Week
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What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab
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Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure
-
Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor
-
When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing
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Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care
-
Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]
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Past 6 Months
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Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients
-
The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you
-
How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship
-
What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab
-
How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care
-
The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care
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Recent Posts
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Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival
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Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]
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Earwax could hold secrets to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease
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Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation
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Why health care must adapt to meet the needs of older adults with disabilities
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How doctors took back control from hospital executives
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Past Week
-
What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab
-
Why flashy AI tools won’t fix health care without real infrastructure
-
Why Medicaid cuts should alarm every doctor
-
When the diagnosis is personal: What my mother’s Alzheimer’s taught me about healing
-
Key strategies for smooth EHR transitions in health care
-
Reassessing the impact of CDC’s opioid guidelines on chronic pain care [PODCAST]
-
Past 6 Months
-
Why tracking cognitive load could save doctors and patients
-
The broken health care system doesn’t have to break you
-
How scales of justice saved a doctor-patient relationship
-
What the world must learn from the life and death of Hind Rajab
-
How dismantling DEI endangers the future of medical care
-
The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care
-
Recent Posts
-
Graduating from medical school without family: a story of strength and survival
-
Inside human trafficking: a guide to recognizing and preventing it [PODCAST]
-
Earwax could hold secrets to cancer, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease
-
Why male fertility needs to be part of every health conversation
-
Why health care must adapt to meet the needs of older adults with disabilities
-
How doctors took back control from hospital executives
-
