Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Arthur Lazarus is a former Doximity Fellow, a member of the editorial board of the American Association for Physician Leadership, and an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia. He is the author of several books on narrative medicine and the fictional series Real Medicine, Unreal Stories. His latest book, a novel, is JAILBREAK: When Artificial Intelligence Breaks Medicine.

Why real medicine is more than quick labels

Physician
August 16, 2025

An excerpt from Real Medicine, Unreal Stories, Volume 3.

The café was quiet, tucked between a shuttered bookstore and a yoga studio that only seemed to open during Mercury retrograde. It was the kind of place that didn’t advertise, which made it perfect for writers, wanderers, and today, two physicians who had long since discovered that stories, not stethoscopes, were the truest diagnostic tools.

Dr. Gary Handler stirred his coffee absentmindedly, …

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Why real medicine is more than quick labels

Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

Meds
July 8, 2025

I won’t be using CVS pharmacies anymore. Sure, I may still need to send prescriptions their way as a physician—but as a consumer, I’m done.

Why?

CVS has recently implemented a new phone system that forces callers to leave a voicemail instead of waiting on hold. The idea is to streamline operations, letting pharmacy staff return calls when they have time. It’s supposed to manage call volume, reduce wait times, and shield …

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Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

International doctors blocked by visa delays as U.S. faces physician shortage

Physician
June 28, 2025

This story is fiction but inspired by the real and worsening challenges faced by international medical graduates navigating U.S. immigration policy.

The acceptance letter sat printed on top of Nabeel Khan’s passport, still warm from the old inkjet printer in his family’s living room in Lahore. The words glowed like prophecy: “Congratulations! We are thrilled to welcome you to our Internal Medicine Residency Program at St. Julian’s Hospital, Topeka, Kansas, …

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International doctors blocked by visa delays as U.S. faces physician shortage

How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments

Physician
June 21, 2025

An excerpt from Real Medicine, Unreal Stories: Lessons and Insights from Clinical Practice (Volume 2).

The dinner plates had been cleared and a lazy instrumental playlist drifted through the background. Thad Brigham leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile crossing his face as he looked at his daughters across the table.

“You two always manage to bring the energy back into this old house,” he …

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How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments

In a fractured world, Brian Wilson’s message still heals

Physician
June 13, 2025

In memory of Brian Wilson (1942–2025).

In a world increasingly marked by fracture and fear, it is hard not to return to the quiet, aching clarity of Brian Wilson’s song Love and Mercy. Originally released in 1988, the song was not a protest anthem or a sweeping political critique. Instead, it was a simple, open-hearted wish: “Love and mercy, that’s what you need tonight. So, love and mercy to you and …

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In a fractured world, Brian Wilson’s message still heals

5 years later: Doctors reveal the untold truths of COVID-19

Physician
June 2, 2025

An excerpt from Real Medicine, Unreal Stories: Lessons and Insights from Clinical Practice.

The magnolias were blooming early this spring, their pale pink petals fluttering down onto the worn brick pathway outside the hospital courtyard. Dr. Eva Cardenas wrapped her thin white coat tighter as she waited on a bench, the same one she used to eat lunch on during the worst months of 2020, six feet apart from everyone …

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5 years later: Doctors reveal the untold truths of COVID-19

How a $75 million jet brought down America’s boldest doctor

Physician
May 15, 2025

This article is satire.

Dr. Donovan Trumble was not your average internist.

In fact, if you asked him, he wasn’t your average anything.

He called himself “the most successful physician-researcher in America—maybe ever,” and once declared during grand rounds, “If Sir William Osler were alive today, he’d be my opening act.”

To the faculty at the Ivy League medical school where Trumble had once chaired the Department of Clinical Egotism (officially “Translational Medicine,” but …

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How a $75 million jet brought down America’s boldest doctor

What independent bookstores and private practice doctors teach us about human connection

Physician
April 23, 2025

An excerpt from Narrative Medicine: New and Selected Essays.

One of my adult daughters recently reminded me of a cherished memory. When she was about four years old, we spent a few hours together at a small, independently owned bookstore. I selected books straight off the shelves and read to her, and later we joined a circle of children and parents to …

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What independent bookstores and private practice doctors teach us about human connection

How trade wars could destroy the U.S. health care system

Policy
April 6, 2025

The term “core competency” was coined by management experts C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel in their influential 1990 article titled “The core competence of the corporation,” published in the Harvard Business Review. Prahalad and Hamel defined core competencies as the unique capabilities or advantages that a company possesses, which are critical to its ability to achieve competitive advantage and long-term success. These competencies are not just about the skills or …

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How trade wars could destroy the U.S. health care system

Chainsaw politics may cut deeply into the fabric of health care

Policy
February 28, 2025

Federal downsizing, while touted as a means to streamline operations and eliminate bureaucratic waste, has significant and often detrimental consequences for the U.S. health care system. Two documents shed light on this issue from complementary perspectives. The first, a U.S. Office of Management and Budget-Office of Personnel Management (OMB-OPM) memorandum outlines an aggressive workforce optimization initiative designed to reduce federal staffing and cut costs. The …

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Chainsaw politics may cut deeply into the fabric of health care

The future of diversity in medical schools is under threat

Education
February 16, 2025

The recent decision by the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from its website has sparked a significant debate within the academic community. This move, aimed at complying with an executive order from President Donald Trump, highlights the tension between institutional values and political mandates. This essay explores the implications of Penn’s actions, contrasting …

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The future of diversity in medical schools is under threat

Citizenship should not be a condition of treatment

Physician
February 8, 2025

The Hippocratic Oath does not require citizenship as a condition of treatment. The oath, which serves as a foundational ethical guideline for physicians, emphasizes principles such as doing no harm, maintaining patient confidentiality, and practicing medicine ethically and with integrity. It focuses on the physician’s responsibilities to patients and the ethical practice of medicine rather than any conditions related to a patient’s citizenship or nationality.

So, why did this issue surface …

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Citizenship should not be a condition of treatment

What if transitions of care resembled transitions of power?

Physician
January 7, 2025

The peaceful transition of power to the 47th president of the U.S. occurred January 6, 2025. It was the loser of the presidential election who ensured an orderly process and ironically certified the results.

In medicine, transitions of care – whether from inpatient to skilled nursing facility, from hospital to home, or during the passing of responsibility from one practitioner to another – represent pivotal moments in the continuity of patient …

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What if transitions of care resembled transitions of power?

Don’t dream it’s over: the resilience we all need in 2025

Physician
January 2, 2025

Many songs and famous refrains flooded my mind as we transitioned into 2025. “Living on a thin line,” “It’s all over now, baby blue,” and “Can’t find my way home” were some of the notable downers. On the flip side (no pun intended), I was uplifted by “Land of hope and dreams” and “It’s gonna be a bright sun-shiny day,” and the thought that “Love [would] reign o’er me.”

Of all, …

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Don’t dream it’s over: the resilience we all need in 2025

Small moments that made 2024 unforgettable

Physician
January 1, 2025

Frank Sinatra’s 1965 hit, “It was a very good year,” framed the benchmarks of a life well-lived through relationships at various ages: when he was 17, “small-town girls … on the village green”; at 21, “city girls who lived up the stair”; at 35, “blue-blooded girls of independent means.”

Fast forward 60 years. What are the ingredients that now constitute “a very good year?” Data from a survey of 2,000 …

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Small moments that made 2024 unforgettable

AI’s cognitive gap: Why human doctors remain irreplaceable

Tech
December 21, 2024

Around Christmas time every year, The BMJ publishes lighthearted feature articles and original, peer-reviewed research intended to ease physicians into the holiday season and help them escape the drudgery of practice. The 2024 collection of articles is no exception, with enticing papers like “How to transport a polar bear, and other idiosyncrasies in providing emergency medical services in the Arctic” and “Living happily ever after? The hidden health risks of Disney princesses.”

My favorite …

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AI’s cognitive gap: Why human doctors remain irreplaceable

Taglines, chief complaints, and the risk of losing the story

Physician
December 17, 2024

A fellow writer and I were having an online exchange. She said her painting was being interrupted by bursts of writing. She texted, “I’m writing about how storytelling is liberating itself from commerce, politics, religion, and emerging as medicine and culture.”

I asked if I could use her quote as my biographical tagline. On my LinkedIn profile I could say: “I write about how storytelling liberates us from commerce, politics, and …

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Taglines, chief complaints, and the risk of losing the story

Are the AI safeguards currently in place sufficient to prevent a doomsday scenario?

Tech
December 2, 2024

My vote for Time’s Person of the Year is Artificial Intelligence (AI). I think AI is the most talked about and hyped (overhyped?) development of 2024, already transforming operations across numerous sectors, from manufacturing to financial services. In the health sector, AI has ushered in groundbreaking advancements in several areas, including psychotherapy, substituting for therapists and also posing ominous portents for physicians. AI systems that learn …

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Are the AI safeguards currently in place sufficient to prevent a doomsday scenario?

If you are pro-psychiatry, should you be anti-RFK?

Policy
November 18, 2024

Much has been written about Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s radical health plans to eliminate fluoride from the drinking water and suppress vaccines, among other lame-brain schemes. But relatively few people are aware of his anti-psychiatry views, possibly endangering the health of a large swath of the populace.

Kennedy is pitching the idea that users of illicit drugs be sent to the “wellness farms,” and users of antidepressants and ADHD medications should …

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If you are pro-psychiatry, should you be anti-RFK?

The long walk home to a better health care system

Physician
November 11, 2024

Like him or not, Bruce Springsteen’s albums have served as the soundtrack to our lives, writing songs that are a reflection of ourselves, challenging our assumptions, and helping us make sense of our messy, chaotic lives. People from all walks of life and from all over the world have found meaning in his music. So, it was no surprise that several months prior to the 2024 presidential election, while on …

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The long walk home to a better health care system

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