Davis Liu, MD

Davis Liu is a family physician. He is the author of The Thrifty Patient – Vital Insider Tips for Saving Money and Staying Healthy and Stay Healthy, Live Longer, Spend Wisely. He can be reached at his self-titled site, Davis Liu, MD, and on Twitter @DavisLiuMD.

The mission to make health care equitable and accessible for all

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

January 15, 2025

In the fall of 2004, everything changed. I became a father for the first time. I had completed four years as a practicing primary care doctor at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California in the Department of Adult Medicine. I had my first op-ed piece published – “How to make your health insurance count as if your life depended on it” – as I was working hard on a book …

How to close the leadership challenge and end this COVID chapter

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

September 25, 2021

The reason that the United States hasn’t been able to reach higher vaccination rates is because of leadership failures. It’s really hard for leaders to lead transformational change during stable times. It’s infinitely harder to lead in a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity)-dynamic world, but not impossible.

It’s the timeless leadership challenge.

How do you help the people you lead get from A to B?

This exchange between Fox …

What’s wrong with health care, and do we have the will to change?

Davis Liu, MD

Policy

May 16, 2019

Our health care system is in crisis and needs significant change. So, I was excited to read Dr. Lisa Rosenbaum’s great February 2019 three-part series in the New England Journal of Medicine and accompanied round table about teamwork in health care. Rosenbaum kicks off each piece with a story: How the Brigham’s and Women’s Hospital’s “shock team,” doctors of different specialties, worked seamlessly in a “remarkable …

Millennials want convenient care

Davis Liu, MD

Tech

October 27, 2018

The Kaiser Health News article, “Spurred By Convenience, Millennials Often Spurn The ‘Family Doctor’ Model,” caught my eye. Millennial patients want “convenience, fast service, connectivity, and price transparency” while doctors and health experts worry about “fragmented or unnecessary care, including the misuse of antibiotics” and loss of “care that is coordinated and longitudinal.” It’s as if the needs of the patients and the concerns of doctors are …

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Millennials want convenient care

The case of HIPAA, an orthodontist, and Black Panther’s Michael B. Jordan

Davis Liu, MD

Social media

March 21, 2018

After an orthodontist blogged about an emergency visit where his patient broke her retainer after watching Michael B. Jordan in the blockbuster hit, the Black Panther, the young woman identified herself as the anonymous patient after learning about the story via Twitter. Though she was initially quite embarrassed, she was ultimately good-natured about all of the unexpected publicity. The natural question for many health care providers was …

Physicians must embrace the business side of medicine

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

November 26, 2017

“Does physician leadership matter?” asks cardiologist and author Dr. Sandeep Jauhar in his New York Times opinion piece “Shouldn’t Doctors Control Hospital Care?” He opens his piece with the termination of the elected leaders of the medical staff office at the Tulare Regional Medical Center due to poor performance. He answers his rhetorical question with the obvious and simple response that doctors should control hospital …

Moving primary care to the cloud: A bold, new vision

Davis Liu, MD

Tech

January 23, 2017

“When companies start unbundling costs, it is a sign of increasing consumer power and weakening market power.”

This is what CEO David Goldhill and author of Catastrophic Care: Why Everything We Think We Know about Health Care Is Wrong told me once. Airlines have unbundled everything that used to be included in a plane ticket. No longer do tickets include meals, in-flight entertainment, and the ability to check in baggage. Today, …

Will integrated health care startups make health care better?

Davis Liu, MD

Tech

August 3, 2016

With Obamacare and creation of health insurance exchanges, many believed that health insurers would compete for patients much the same way hotels, rental cars companies, and airlines compete for customers. By comparing identical benefits packages from different insurers, patients could select their insurer based on the monthly premium and the extent of the hospital and physician network.

In a recent Vox article, Ezra Klein urged insurers do “something like …

An Uber for health care is closer than you think

Davis Liu, MD

Tech

January 21, 2016

Will there be an Uber for health care? Articles are split. The truth is there will be an Uber for health care. It just isn’t here yet. Expect it to be widely available in the next decade and as a result, people will get expert medical care that is more convenient, less expensive, and accessible.

What issues must an Uber for health care solve?

Media articles that have prematurely proclaimed that Uber …

When the back pain red flags aren’t enough

Davis Liu, MD

Conditions

April 19, 2015

$28 million was awarded to a patient for a late diagnosis of a pelvic tumor, an osteosarcoma. This rare cancer presented as a case of low back pain and sciatica. The patient claimed that if the osteosarcoma had been caught earlier that the subsequent surgery would have been avoided.

Could doctors have done better in diagnosing more quickly?

These cases strike fear into all primary care doctors. Which patient has a …

Are millennial doctors ready for 21st century medicine?

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

December 14, 2014

shutterstock_184203626

Are millennial doctors well trained for the 21st century? That was the question posed in NPR’s Millennial Doctors May Be More Tech-Savvy, But Is That Better? I believe how millennial doctors are educated may make them less adequately prepared than previous generations. This isn’t a reflection of medical education, but of education in general.

Do the technological tools available prevent the engagement needed to …
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Are millennial doctors ready for 21st century medicine?

Improve the lives of primary care doctors. Here’s how.

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

November 28, 2014

Making primary care better for doctors currently in practice and attractive to medical students and residents is critical given the needs of our health care system. It also has been a major focus of the health care organization where I work. A few colleagues and I noticed that many primary care doctors still stayed later than others despite lowering patient panel responsibilities and the implementation of the nation’s most robust …

Health reform will make us less healthy and more insolvent

Davis Liu, MD

Policy

November 10, 2014

As people select health insurance during open enrollment, what many don’t realize is how the creation of the health insurance exchanges or health insurance marketplace via the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) will ultimately result in Americans becoming less healthy and more insolvent. Let’s review the pros and cons.

Although the Affordable Care Act provided important benefits of expanding and ensuring coverage with preventive benefits, insurability of all regardless of prior …

Staying healthy: More than an annual physical

Davis Liu, MD

Conditions

October 13, 2014

Having a healthy life is more than getting an annual physical examination. It is about having healthy habits. Some of these healthy habits make common sense. Others seen unnatural, but yet are vitally important.

A healthy life is more than feeling well. It is about living life to the fullest and ensuring you are doing your part to improve both your quality of life and longevity.

Which ones are you missing?

How do …

What the iPhone 6 bendgate can teach us about vaccines

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

October 5, 2014

I received my new thinner bigger iPhone. Within a few days, news reports highlighted how new iPhone 6 owners accidentally bent the latest Apple iteration of the modern smartphone. A blogger bent an iPhone 6 Plus with his bare hands. This story, the subsequent fallout, and response has learnings for doctors and health care on the challenges facing the vaccination “debate.”

The best launch in iPhone history with roughly 10 million smartphones shipped …

Not knowing what we don’t know: How can we help doctors?

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

September 20, 2014

Dr. Daniela Drake writes an provocative and bold piece on the plight of doctors in America and the impact it has on patient care: “Why Your Doctor Feels Like a ‘Beaten Dog’.” Though health care is very bureaucratic with administrative paperwork, huddles, and hassles, her linkage of how patients were neglected as a consequence of the system doctors work in is weak.

She talks about Victoria, a teenager, who …

Medicine in the 21st century: Talking to patients still matters

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

September 8, 2014

Even in the 21st century, talking to your doctor about your symptoms matters. This is something I tell my medical students. Talk to your patients. Listen to your patients. Use their story to determine what tests and imaging tests to order, if needed. Don’t get fooled by technology or be in awe of its importance. It is the patient’s experience that matters. It isn’t the other way around as we …

Chest pain and what we can learn from changing flat tires

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

August 14, 2014

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“Daddy, I think we have a flat tire.”

I just rolled out of the garage with my 4th grade daughter. It was Tuesday morning. Usual daily routine. Drop her off at school then go to work. A little different today as I was to lead an important meeting.

How could she possibly know what a flat tire sounds like? Now? Right now? She’s …

Better care is mindfully listening to patients

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

July 27, 2014

“Dr. Liu, I don’t think he has diverticulitis.”

So said the second-year medical student. She had just completed her first year of anatomy, biochemistry, pathology, and introduction to doctoring at the local medical school. One of the sharpest medical students I’ve proctored.

Like many summers, I’ve been fortunate to spend time with the next generation of doctors. These future doctors were brimmed with enthusiasm and energy. Instead of taking time off to …

A simple trick to remember your doctor’s recommendations

Davis Liu, MD

Physician

July 17, 2014

An excerpt from The Thrifty Patient – Vital Insider Tips for Saving Money and Staying Healthy.

You’ve told your story. Your doctor gets it. He has completed the physical exam. He formulates a plan to get you better. The next skill you should master may be as important as being a great storyteller. Your doctor has told you the …

Davis Liu, MD

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