KevinMD.com

August 10, 2017Aug 10, 2017

Medicine is a lot like grade school mathematics. The days are long gone when instantly knowing or quickly arriving at the right answer was enough. Now it’s all about showing your calculations. Process is everything. It’s almost like having the…

If you ask a patient with a given symptom, like tremor, lameness or a skin eruption, only a few questions and then conclude that they have …

Conditions and Diseases

How to safely view the solar eclipse without losing vision from solar retinopathy

Steve Christiansen, MD

August 10, 2017Aug 10, 2017

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming solar eclipse and how to safely view the eclipse without losing vision from solar retinopathy. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the…

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming solar eclipse and how to safely view the eclipse without losing vision from solar retinopathy.

A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon casts its shadow, known as the umbra, on Earth. Partial or total eclipses occur somewhere on Earth about every 18 months as …

Physician

A cancer patient’s incredible response to treatment

Don S. Dizon, MD

August 9, 2017Aug 9, 2017

I’d known her for almost 3 years. She had advanced ovarian cancer -- clear cell -- and was diagnosed with disease already in her chest, stage IV. She had a terrific response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which had resolved her extra-abdominal…

I’d known her for almost 3 years. She had advanced ovarian cancer — clear cell — and was diagnosed with disease already in her chest, stage IV. She had a terrific response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, which had resolved her extra-abdominal disease sites after three cycles. She had an aggressive interval surgery which achieved complete resection …

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Medications

GOOP and Gwyneth: Blame mainstream media

Arthur L. Caplan, PhD and Timothy Caulfield, LLM

August 9, 2017Aug 9, 2017

It is easy to mock the ridiculous and potentially harmful health advice and product lines promoted by Gwyneth Paltrow and her team at Goop. Sleeping near healing crystals, lugging around jade eggs in the vagina, swilling moon juice, undergoing raw…

Physician

How to game medical coding isn’t why I became a doctor

Fred N. Pelzman, MD

August 9, 2017Aug 9, 2017

A patient of mine recently came to see me in a follow-up appointment after an emergency department visit. He had been working out at the gym, on a hot day, after he had skipped breakfast, and after his usual routine he felt extremely lightheaded. Everyone told him he looked “white as a sheet”, and a physician who was at the gym told him he must go to the emergency department.

In …

Medications

Should only infectious disease specialists be allowed to prescribe antibiotics?

Craig Bowron, MD

August 9, 2017Aug 9, 2017

The WHO’s recent announcement of multi-drug resistant strains of gonorrhea raises the specter of a worldwide SuperClap Attack that even the Avengers couldn’t foil. It also comes as yet another ominous reminder of the perils of rampant and indiscriminate antibiotic…

There’s plenty of blame to spread around. True, here in the U.S., consumers can’t buy antibiotics over the counter, but that hasn’t kept physicians and other providers from over-prescribing them …

Physician

A hospital leader speaks out against the transgender military ban

Suzanne Koven, MD

August 9, 2017Aug 9, 2017

On the afternoon of July 26, I opened an email from Dr. Peter Slavin, president of Massachusetts General Hospital, where I work as a primary care doctor. Dr. Slavin frequently sends messages to all MGH employees, uncontroversial broadsides announcing new hospital initiatives, grant awards, promotions and retirements that often end with: “Go Sox!” (or, depending on the season, “Patriots!” “Celtics!” “Bruins!”).

So I was not expecting that …

Conditions and Diseases

Doctors: You’re just as unhealthy as your patients. Here’s why.

Shane C. Quinonez, MD

August 8, 2017Aug 8, 2017

Most people reading this would love to lose weight, feel better and live longer. Doctors are a smart and motivated group of people. Unfortunately, that intellect and drive has not prevented us from avoiding an increasing incidence of obesity, diabetes,…

While this article may have started out sounding like an infomercial, I promise it will not end like one. …

Medical Education

Why I got into medical school and chose not to go

Armando Quintana

August 8, 2017Aug 8, 2017

Imagine taking the MCAT, applying to schools, getting interviews and even being accepted into medical school. How would it feel knowing your dedication has paid off? I felt great, as I had studied hard and made sacrifices others were unwilling to make. As I saw the finish line for what would be the beginning of medical school, I began to ask myself, “Should I continue onwards toward medical school or …

Medical Education

Love something other than medicine? It’s OK.

Mary Barber

August 8, 2017Aug 8, 2017

When I entered college, I wanted to be a chemistry major. I had no idea what college chemistry would be like, but it was the class I loved most in high school and something I was pretty good at. The town I grew up in had little more than 3,000 people and more gas stations than stop lights. My school didn’t have Advanced Placement classes or partnerships with local hospitals …

Physician

The sad direction of hospital care

Steven Reznick, MD

August 8, 2017Aug 8, 2017

My 74-year old obese, poorly controlled diabetic patient with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary artery disease, asthma, obstructive sleep apnea has been difficult to motivate to improve his lifestyle and his health. He is bright, sweet and caring but…

At each office visit, we review his medications, review his dietary habits and go through the check list of check-ups for diabetic complications including regular ophthalmology exams …

Read more…

The sad direction of hospital care

Health Policy

Health care in American is on life support, and the future is uncharted

Manoj Jain, MD, MPH

August 7, 2017Aug 7, 2017

At this time in history, it may serve us well to reflect on the tortuous past, the harrowing present and the unpredictable future of health care in America. First and foremost we must recognize we do not have “a health…

At this time in history, it may serve us well to reflect on the tortuous past, the harrowing present and the unpredictable future of health care in America.

First and foremost we must recognize we do not have “a health care system” — rather our health care is delivered in an uncoordinated, misaligned and exorbitantly expensive fashion. For example, 1 in 5 Medicare patients are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of discharge, …

Medical Education

3 pieces of advice to new medical students

Natasha Abadilla

August 7, 2017Aug 7, 2017

Congratulations on your acceptance to medical school! Wherever you’re starting this fall, know that you’re joining a “cult” of health care professionals and health care professionals-to-be. No matter how little you know, you’ll be asked for medical advice. And the more you learn, the less likely you’ll be able to sit through an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” without picking out the make believe. We’re right there with you.

Medical school is a …

Health Policy

This is what to remember in health reform: We are all one patient

Sasha K. Shillcutt, MD

August 7, 2017Aug 7, 2017

As a physician, I am often discouraged when I turn on the news and read about the state of health care in our country. I can see all 397 sides of the debate and some truth in all sides. The…

As a physician, I am often discouraged when I turn on the news and read about the state of health care in our country. I can see all 397 sides of the debate and some truth in all sides. The enormous cost of medicine is overwhelming to comprehend for patients and families and even to those of us in medicine.

I think it is important to know all that goes into …

Conditions and Diseases

Sometimes high-tech care can be high value

Karan Chhabra

August 7, 2017Aug 7, 2017

“Can you hear it?” she asked with a smile. The thin, pleasant lady seemed as struck by her murmur as I was. She was calm, perhaps amused by the clumsy second-year medical student listening to her heart. “Yes, yes I…

“Yes, yes I can,” I replied, barely concealing my excitement. We had just learned about the heart sounds in class. This was my first time hearing anything abnormal on a patient, though it was …

Conditions and Diseases

Chemicals in your food? Please don’t panic.

Roy Benaroch, MD

August 7, 2017Aug 7, 2017

Advocacy groups have been busy lately with their fancy-pants chemical detection science instruments, and their press releases have made it into the news. But is there news here, and are these chemicals something parents really need to worry about? First…

First it was a big lead from the New York Times called “The Chemicals in your Mac and Cheese.” The article started:

Potentially harmful chemicals that were banned from children’s teething rings and …

Read more…

Chemicals in your food? Please don’t panic.

Health Policy

A single-payer system is the American way

Margalit Gur-Arie

August 7, 2017Aug 7, 2017

As is customary for every administration in recent history, the Trump administration chose to impale itself on the national spear known as health care in America. The consequences so far are precisely as I expected, but one intriguing phenomenon is surprisingly beginning to emerge. People are starting to talk about single payer. People who are not avowed socialists, people who benefit handsomely from the health care status quo seem to …

Physician

Make the patient feel like the absolute center of your world

Suneel Dhand, MD

August 6, 2017Aug 6, 2017

Several years ago, when I was working as a hospital physician in Florida, a patient’s wife said something that has always stuck with me. The service was very busy on that day, and I was doing my best to get through everybody in a timely manner. I was with a patient whose wife was at the bedside, beside herself with worry. I was focused on the main presenting complaint, but …

Physician

Stop piling on physicians: The last straw in burnout

Paul DeChant, MD, MBA

August 6, 2017Aug 6, 2017

We are all familiar with the saying: "the last straw." It refers to the fable of the camel who could carry heavy loads. In the story, the camel is a beast of burden. Its owner, in an effort to transport…

We are all familiar with the saying: “the last straw.” It refers to the fable of the camel who could carry heavy loads.

In the story, the camel is a beast of burden. Its owner, in an effort to transport as much straw as possible, keeps piling more and more on the camel’s back. Camels are strong and can handle a lot. But at some point, even the strongest camel will …

Social Media in Medicine

Gwyneth Paltrow and the New York Times should take Dr. Jen Gunter seriously

Greg Matthews

August 6, 2017Aug 6, 2017

There was an interesting piece published in the Style section of the New York Times this weekend; I was tipped to it by Bryan Vartabedian. If you’re a health care geek, that section may not be on your “must read” list (I know it isn’t; will explain below), so let me bring you up to speed. On July 29th, Katie Rosman published a piece entitled, “A Doctor …

Real physician voices, twice a week

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