KevinMD.com

January 27, 2017Jan 27, 2017

One of the privileges of medicine is the chance to meet people from every walk of life — many of whom you might never get a chance to know otherwise. Of course, such meetings are never spontaneous. In medicine, we are brought together by illness, and the people coming to see me are seeking advice on treatment for …

Health Policy

Can independent practices stay viable using price transparency?

Niran S. Al-Agba, MD

January 27, 2017Jan 27, 2017

The market for medical tourism grows as Americans increasingly seek medical care outside of the United States and pay cash for services. Patients know they can obtain adequate quality care in Mexico for out of pocket costs far lower than their insurance plans with high deductibles would cover. Posting basic outpatient visit and simple procedure prices could benefit our independent practices in the same way. The only thing worse than …

Conditions and Diseases

Misophonia and suicide: Sound thinking is required

Jennifer Jo Brout, PsyD and Barron H. Lerner, MD, PhD

January 26, 2017Jan 26, 2017

If you Google “misophonia” you might be shocked to find numerous articles discussing the tragic suicide of 52-year-old Russian-born scholar, Dr. Michelle Lamarche Marrese. Journalist Joyce Cohen was the first to report Marrese’s suicide in the New York Post piece “She could hear everything and it cost her her life.” Cohen explains that she and Marrese had been corresponding about Marrese’s struggles with misophonia for over 14 months, and that …

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Physician

Workplace wellness program requirements should reflect High Value Care recommendations

Yul Ejnes, MD

January 26, 2017Jan 26, 2017

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. If you are a primary care physician, chances are that you’ve had patients ask you to complete forms for work as part of their employer’s wellness program. Workplace…

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

If you are a primary care physician, chances are that you’ve had patients ask you to complete forms for work as part of their employer’s wellness program. Workplace wellness programs have been around for several years, but it seems that more of my patients have …

Physician

7 ways hospital executives can support their staff

Leslie Flores

January 26, 2017Jan 26, 2017

Dear hospital executive, If you are like many of the hospital leaders with whom I regularly talk, you’re probably concerned that your hospitalist program isn’t delivering the value you need in this metrics-driven and cost-constrained environment. You may see your…

Dear hospital executive,

If you are like many of the hospital leaders with whom I regularly talk, you’re probably concerned that your hospitalist program isn’t delivering the value you need in this metrics-driven and cost-constrained environment. You may see your hospitalists as disengaged free agents who either don’t know or care too little about contributing to the success of your organization beyond seeing the patients on their list. They may repeatedly …

Physician

There is something rotten inside the medical profession

Anonymous

January 26, 2017Jan 26, 2017

In the year it has taken for me to finish my medical residency as a junior doctor, two of my colleagues have killed themselves. I've read articles that refer to suicide amongst doctors as the profession's "grubby little secret," but…

In the year it has taken for me to finish my medical residency as a junior doctor, two of my colleagues have killed themselves. I’ve read articles that refer to suicide amongst doctors as the profession’s “grubby little secret,” but I’d rather call it exactly how it is: the profession’s shameful and disgusting open secret.

Medical training has long had its culture rooted in ideals of suffering. Not so much for …

Health Policy

What are the ethics of health care reform?

Kenneth Lin, MD

January 26, 2017Jan 26, 2017

It's been a rough past couple of months not only for millions of Americans whose health care futures depend on decisions to be made by the new Congress and the Trump administration but for those of us who teach about…

It’s been a rough past couple of months not only for millions of Americans whose health care futures depend on decisions to be made by the new Congress and the Trump administration but for those of us who teach about the U.S. health system for a living. As one health policy expert I follow tweeted only half-facetiously, on election night: “Dear students: all that stuff I taught you about the …

Medications

Oxycontin: America’s next new export

Ankur Dave, MD

January 26, 2017Jan 26, 2017

The health care system has been devastated by the opioid epidemic. Addictive opiate medications have not been shown to benefit patients with chronic pain, yet they are the most prescribed pills in the United States. As a pain management physician,…

As a pain management physician, I have seen opiates, when in the wrong hands, destroy lives. As doctors and health care organizations scramble to treat more than 2 million Americans suffering from opioid addiction, drug companies …

Read more…

Oxycontin: America’s next new export

Physician

A gift of homemade food is the ultimate gift of love

Andrea Eisenberg, MD

January 25, 2017Jan 25, 2017

Food. Such a universal sign of love. For me, a gift of homemade food is the ultimate gift of love. So when a patient brings me food, not like a box of chocolates, but something they have spent time considering and preparing, I know I have touched them in a unique and special way. These are a few of those special stories.

Chex mix

Every December I see her for her yearly …

Physician

Being a woman doctor in a man’s world

Maiysha Clairborne, MD

January 25, 2017Jan 25, 2017

Last week I was in a session with one of my coaching clients, a successful black female physician who is the owner of her own practice. As we were concluding she made a statement to me "I feel like medicine…

Last week I was in a session with one of my coaching clients, a successful black female physician who is the owner of her own practice. As we were concluding she made a statement to me “I feel like medicine has just sucked the feminine right out of me.” Immediately I related.

As women in the professional world, we are always in competition with men whether we are aware of it, …

Read more…

Being a woman doctor in a man’s world

Medications

Maybe it’s the medication! (It usually never is.)

Greg Smith, MD

January 25, 2017Jan 25, 2017

He came in for his routine yearly visit with me, stable for the most part in that he was living with his chronic psychotic illness and moving through the world in a fairly normal, logical way most days. He was in his mid-twenties, neat and clean. He was attending to his personal hygiene and wearing rumpled but passable casual clothes. His hair was combed, but it had not been cut …

Health Policy

Our convoluted health care payment system

Cory Michael, MD

January 25, 2017Jan 25, 2017

Three men walk into a deli for lunch, take a number, and sit quietly until called. There are no prices on display, nor is the food visible. The first man, Ron, is called to the counter and states that he is hungry when asked what brings him in. He presents his food insurance credentials, and five minutes later, he walks out the door with a 12-inch gourmet sandwich, a side …

Physician

Why this doctor no longer loves being a physician

Jordan Grumet, MD

January 25, 2017Jan 25, 2017

I have a breathtakingly difficult confession to make. A confession that on its face seems rather innocuous but in many ways shakes the foundations of who I always thought I was, and how I identify myself. I no longer love…

I no longer love being a physician.

There — I said it. I winced even as I strung the words together to write the sentence. You see, to admit this is almost inconceivable. So much of …

Physician

How subtle sexism is isolating female residents

Anonymous

January 25, 2017Jan 25, 2017

I was sitting next to two of my co-residents during a break in conference this morning, answering emails on autopilot and half-listening to the buzz of conversations around me, when their muffled laughter caught my attention. “What’s so funny, guys?”…

“What’s so funny, guys?” I asked them, thinking that a good joke or funny story might break up the monotony of hours of lecture. The reply I got stunned me.

“It’s man talk,” one of them …

Health Policy

Changes in the Affordable Care Act need to put patients first

William Harper, MD

January 24, 2017Jan 24, 2017

The call came at 4:30 a.m. I answered when she called the second time, as I was too late to answer the first. “Dr. Harper. I think I need to go to the hospital. I just feel so weak.” It…

The call came at 4:30 a.m. I answered when she called the second time, as I was too late to answer the first. “Dr. Harper. I think I need to go to the hospital. I just feel so weak.”

It was Bessie, a patient I have known for over 15 years. She’s been struggling for a few week, and while we are working through this struggle, we are clearly not doing …

Physician

How a meeting between President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. puts lives at risk.

Hayden T. Pacl

January 24, 2017Jan 24, 2017

It is clear that the anti-vaccine movement is born out of concern for children and their well-being, and I sympathize with the fear and uncertainty of parents. I do not, however, sympathize with President Trump’s decision to meet with the out-spoken vaccine critic Mr. Robert. F. Kennedy Jr., or his reported decision to have Mr. Kennedy chair a commission investigating the safety and efficacy of vaccines. It is not merely …

Physician

I saw how my family, including me, really felt about my husband’s cancer

Melanie Di Stante, RDN

January 24, 2017Jan 24, 2017

In 2000, my husband Brian was diagnosed with Stage III B Hodgkin lymphoma, which has since become a prominent part of our lives. My children and I belong to Gilda's Club, a cancer support community. And recently, we were asked…

In 2000, my husband Brian was diagnosed with Stage III B Hodgkin lymphoma, which has since become a prominent part of our lives. My children and I belong to Gilda’s Club, a cancer support community. And recently, we were asked to help record a promotional video to be featured at a fundraising gala for the local chapter and on the club’s website.

I’m not a “spotlight” kind of girl, and I …

Medical Education

Why this medical student has second thoughts about primary care

Anonymous

January 24, 2017Jan 24, 2017

I went to medical school to go into family medicine. During my interview when I said I wanted to do family medicine, the interviewer looked me up and down and said, "You know, you don’t have to say that just…

I went to medical school to go into family medicine. During my interview when I said I wanted to do family medicine, the interviewer looked me up and down and said, “You know, you don’t have to say that just because you are at (insert name of primary care focused medical school).”

Now, less than two years into medical school, I’m watching with sadness as the “con” side of my pro/con …

Physician

Dear Dr. Price: 5 suggestions for the new Health and Human Services secretary

Suneel Dhand, MD

January 24, 2017Jan 24, 2017

Dear Dr. Price, Congratulations on your upcoming appointment as the new Health and Human Services Secretary under President Trump. As a physician myself, it’s great to know that a fellow physician will head up the agency. I’m sure you understand…

Dear Dr. Price,

Congratulations on your upcoming appointment as the new Health and Human Services Secretary under President Trump. As a physician myself, it’s great to know that a fellow physician will head up the agency. I’m sure you understand too, having been a practicing orthopedic surgeon, how disheartening and frustrating it is to have non-clinical “experts” making key decisions about health care.

I’m sure you’ve also seen the news about how …

Physician

When selecting health insurance policies, beware of surprise gaps in coverage

Kraig S. de Lanzac, MD

January 24, 2017Jan 24, 2017

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. As a lifelong resident of southeast Louisiana and a veteran of numerous weather and flood-related events that have required me to use my homeowners and flood insurance, I…

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com.

As a lifelong resident of southeast Louisiana and a veteran of numerous weather and flood-related events that have required me to use my homeowners and flood insurance, I am very familiar with gaps in insurance coverage. Insurance policies are very detailed agreements that many …

Real physician voices, twice a week

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