Brian Powers
Brian Powers is a medical student.
Is this your author page?
Make it work for you. Your KevinMD author page is one of the highest-ranking results for your name. An enhanced author page turns this page into a premium profile with your photo, biography, affiliations, publications, and links, publishes your accepted articles in 1 to 3 days, includes a listing in Experts by KevinMD, and comes with a guaranteed interview on The Podcast by KevinMD. See an example · See the enhanced author page → Cancel anytime.
Latest articles
Health policy

Physicians in Congress are on the rise. From 1960 to 2004, only 25 of the 2196 members of Congress were physicians. During an era that brought such fundamental changes to health policy as the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, physicians…
Physicians in Congress are on the rise. From 1960 to 2004, only 25 of the 2196 members of Congress were physicians. During an era that brought such fundamental changes to health policy as the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, physicians were disproportionately less likely to hold congressional office than their counterparts in law (979) and in business (298). In recent years, the ranks of physician-representatives have swelled — twenty physicians …
Read more…
The surge of physician membership in Congress
Medical education
Edward arrived at the hospital following a stroke; a standard work-up failed to reveal an obvious cause. His physician explained that a previously diagnosed patent foramen ovale (PFO), a hole in between the chambers of his heart, may have led…
Edward arrived at the hospital following a stroke; a standard work-up failed to reveal an obvious cause. His physician explained that a previously diagnosed patent foramen ovale (PFO), a hole in between the chambers of his heart, may have led to his stroke. He presented three possible treatment options to Edward: (1) medical management with drugs; (2) open surgery to correct the defect; or (3) interventional catheterization to correct the …
Read more…
Teaching medical students to provide high value care
Health policy
Over the past decade, patient-centered care has become a mantra for high-quality health care. Policymakers, researchers, physician-leaders, and patients have all cited the need for care to be tailored to patients' unique needs and preferences. And there is solid evidence…
Over the past decade, patient-centered care has become a mantra for high-quality health care. Policymakers, researchers, physician-leaders, and patients have all cited the need for care to be tailored to patients’ unique needs and preferences. And there is solid evidence that patient-centered care can help improve care quality and reduce costs. However, in the rush to become more patient-centered, the health care system has misplaced its focus.
Current approaches to …
Read more…
Patient-centered care requires learning from the service industries
Medical education

After graduating from college I had the opportunity to spend two years working at the Institute of Medicine on a variety of health care improvement topics. When it came time to apply to medical school I noticed an odd dissonance—the…
After graduating from college I had the opportunity to spend two years working at the Institute of Medicine on a variety of health care improvement topics. When it came time to apply to medical school I noticed an odd dissonance—the challenges I had been grappling with at the IOM were not manifest in most medical school curricula. I knew that multidisciplinary teams …
Read more…
The physician’s role in cost containment is absent during training
Real physician voices, twice a week
Free, and one click to unsubscribe.