How digital tools are reshaping the doctor-patient relationship

Tech
July 4, 2025

In this era of digital revolution in health care, the traditional physician-patient relationship is undergoing a significant transformation. Digital tools, including telemedicine, electronic health records (EHRs), artificial intelligence-based diagnostics, and various fitness applications, are reshaping how patients and clinicians interact and manage health together. While these innovations surely provide efficiency and accessibility, they also present significant challenges to the fundamental aspects of medical practice: trust, empathy, and human connection. As …

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Why evidence-based management may be an effective strategy for stronger health care leadership and equity

Physician
July 4, 2025

In the current complex health care landscape, health care leaders are frequently challenged to make management decisions that are effective but also equitable. Numerous leadership transitions are occurring in Canada’s health care systems because of leadership failures. In British Columbia, multiple health care leaders were replaced in the first half of 2025. David Eby, British Columbia’s Premier, declared, “The anxiety that I have is that the people who see the …

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Why health care leaders fail at execution—and how to fix it

Policy
July 4, 2025

Health care leaders don’t have a vision problem. We have an execution problem.

Over the last two decades, I’ve seen countless strategic plans crafted with care, insight, and bold ambition. Mission statements get refreshed. Core values are realigned. Retreats are held. Vision decks are created and shared from the C-suite to the frontlines. And yet — within weeks — most of those plans fade into the background.

The problem isn’t poor leadership …

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Residency match tips: Building mentorship, research, and community

Education
July 4, 2025

The residency match process is one of the most defining and often most daunting milestones in a medical student’s journey. It represents the culmination of over eight years of dedication, sacrifice, and hard work in pursuit of a dream many of us have nurtured since childhood.

Building a strong application is challenging for everyone. Whether you’re navigating personal doubts, managing financial strain, lacking mentorship, or simply trying to figure out the …

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From Founding Fathers to modern battles: physician activism in a politicized era [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 3, 2025
YouTube video

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Psychiatrist, internist, and addiction medicine specialist Muhamad Aly Rifai discusses his article, “Physician patriots: the forgotten founders who lit the torch of liberty.” Muhamad calls for a remembrance of the five physician-patriots—Dr. …

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From stigma to science: Rethinking the U.S. drug scheduling system

Meds
July 3, 2025

In 1971, President Nixon initiated a battle that would reshape the United States: The War on Drugs. As a key part of that campaign, he enacted the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which authorized the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to categorize modern-day controlled substances into 5 “schedules” based on their “medical use, potential for abuse, and safety or dependence liability.” They range from Schedule I, which are substances with no …

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The gift we keep giving: How medicine demands everything—even our holidays

Physician
July 3, 2025

What’s the least glamorous thing you’ve ever done as a physician on a holiday?

Let me start.

One year, I spent Christmas Day in the library.

Not sipping cocoa. Not gathered with family in matching pyjamas. Not basking in the warmth of laughter or the gentle hush of snowfall outside a glowing window.

I was alone. In a silent room. Under sterile fluorescent lighting.

And I wasn’t escaping into fiction—I was studying for board exams, …

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The promise and perils of AI in health care: Why we need better testing standards

Tech
July 3, 2025

There is substantial enthusiasm around the advancements of AI in health care, as exemplified by the media attention for the new HealthBench release from OpenAI and similar recent studies from Google (MedPalm2, AIME). Market enthusiasm often leads us to believe that we’re on the brink of AI doctors treating patients worldwide. However, while these developments represent interesting technical progress, they fall short of demonstrating readiness for clinical application.

The stakes …

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From burnout to balance: a neurosurgeon’s bold career redesign

Physician
July 3, 2025

When a neurosurgeon tells you she thinks she might want to leave surgery for interior design, you listen closely.

Not because it’s outrageous, but because it’s honest. Many physicians carry similar longings. They wonder whether it’s OK to want a different life.

In medicine, conformity is expected and often a means of survival. Especially for women in male-dominated fields. The unspoken expectation is to blend in, push through, and never question the …

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Healing the doctor-patient relationship by attacking administrative inefficiencies

Policy
July 3, 2025

I have a great doctor. I’ve enjoyed his approach to providing care so much that I was greatly distressed when, at my last visit, he told me he was thinking of retiring early. While I consider myself fortunate to have a positive and dependable relationship with my doctor, fewer people now relate to that sentiment than before.

Gallup recently reported that America’s trust in professionals has declined, with overall trust …

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Who will train the next generation of primary care clinicians without physician mentorship? [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 2, 2025
YouTube video

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Founding director of the Doctor of Medical Science program at The College of St. Scholastica, Kenneth Botelho, discusses his article, “In the absence of physician mentorship, who will train the next generation …

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The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Policy
July 2, 2025

In an age where bold language dominates headlines, it can be easy to overlook the real-world effects of complex legislation. But this is not just a matter of political branding. The proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act has implications that, based on current research, could lead to substantial and preventable harm to public health.

As a fourth-year medical student with a background in public health, I’ve spent years studying how health …

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The CDC’s restructuring: Where is the voice of health care in the room?

Policy
July 2, 2025

As a surgery resident, I see the long shadow of poor public health every day — whether it’s a diabetic foot infection that’s gone too long without care or a hypertensive crisis that never should’ve happened. That’s why the proposed restructuring of the CDC and other federal health agencies is not just administrative news to me — it’s personal.

The argument for reform often leans on efficiency: Reduce bureaucracy, streamline oversight, …

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Choosing between care and country: a dual citizen’s Independence Day reflection

Policy
July 2, 2025

There’s a stretch of days at the beginning of July, between Canada Day and Independence Day, when I find myself holding my breath. It’s a liminal space that I know intimately as a professional, a mother, and a dual citizen. Born Canadian and naturalized American. Over the past several years, as I have come into the full realization of who I am as a parent of a child with complex …

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What Elon Musk and Diddy reveal about the price of power

Conditions
July 2, 2025

I remember those days well. Long before the era of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, another Hollywood “power couple” captivated the world: Jennifer Lopez and Sean “Diddy” Combs. J.Lo brought the glamour and Latin flair, while Diddy embodied the swagger of hip-hop’s reigning bad boy. Their union was a bold fusion of Latina sass and African American pop culture, a sizzling romance that lit up the entertainment world.

Diddy wasn’t just another rapper …

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3 tips for using AI medical scribes to save time charting

Tech
July 2, 2025

If you’re a clinician who’s tired of staying late at the clinic, bringing charts home, or sacrificing your lunch just to catch up on documentation—you’re not alone.

Documentation burnout is one of the top contributors to job dissatisfaction and work-life imbalance for health care professionals today.

Fortunately, new tech tools are offering a way out. Enter AI medical scribes—artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can save you so much time charting!

AI medical scribes …

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Why working in Hawai’i health care isn’t all paradise

Physician
July 2, 2025

Most people could think of several good reasons to move to Hawai’i and work in health care. It’s a beautiful gem of a place with welcoming people and Aloha Spirit. Why save up for an occasional Hawaiian vacation when you could be enjoying sunny beaches, warm waters, and lush jungles year-round? The problem is that entry into Hawai’i’s health care system has largely become a revolving door of those who …

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A physician’s reflection on love, loss, and finding meaning in grief [PODCAST]

Podcast
July 1, 2025
YouTube video

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Hospitalist Jasminka Vukanovic-Criley discusses her article, “When grief hits all at once: a morning of heartbreak and love.” Jasminka shares a deeply personal account of a Saturday morning where unexpected news of …

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How fragmented records and poor tracking degrade patient outcomes

Policy
July 1, 2025

Medicine today is single-encounter oriented with documentation largely tailored for legal purposes rather than medical care. When an encounter ends, the physician must sign off the documentation and no further changes can be made; any corrections require another document that must also be signed off, but this is seldom done.

A further problem with current medicine is that many diagnoses are differential diagnoses instead of confirmed ones, which may be OK …

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How New Mexico became a malpractice lawsuit hotspot

Physician
July 1, 2025

Across America, physicians worry about malpractice litigation—but what happens when state policies unintentionally create a malpractice litigation magnet? New Mexico offers a troubling case study every health care provider should know about.

Between 2019 and 2024, New Mexico lost 248 practicing physicians; for a large state with a small population, this is significant. Rural communities bear the brunt of this exodus. Specialists, surgeons, and primary care doctors alike have left, most …

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