Kevin Pho, MD

A practicing, board-certified internal medicine physician and the founder and editor of KevinMD.

385 articles on KevinMD

About Kevin Pho, MD

Articles, page 12

Physician voices

New doctors tend to become employed physicians

Kevin Pho, MD

April 22, 2011Apr 22, 201119

Much has been written on the death of private practice. A lion's share of the reason is economic. It's becoming financially unfeasible to run a private practice and practice medicine at the same time. The increasing bureaucracy and regulations will…

Much has been written on the death of private practice.

A lion’s share of the reason is economic. It’s becoming financially unfeasible to run a private practice and practice medicine at the same time. The increasing bureaucracy and regulations will only get worse.

And many doctors are responding by becoming employed by hospitals or by large, integrated health practices, and giving up some independence.

Some will continue to resist this trend. But …

Social media in medicine

Talking social media and health reform with medical students

Kevin Pho, MD

April 9, 2011Apr 9, 20115

I recently concluded a trip down to Nashville, TN where I gave my talk on the health care-social media intersection at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. My audience normally consists of physicians and hospital staff, so talking to students was…

I recently concluded a trip down to Nashville, TN where I gave my talk on the health care-social media intersection at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

My audience normally consists of physicians and hospital staff, so talking to students was a refreshing change.

I had the opportunity to have dinner the night before, and breakfast and lunch the day …

Social media in medicine

Patients using Facebook for health information

Kevin Pho, MD

April 1, 2011Apr 1, 201110

Do you use Facebook to look for health information? If you said "yes," and use social networking sites to research your health, you could be in the minority, or majority, depending on which study you read. Recently, a survey released…

Do you use Facebook to look for health information?

If you said “yes,” and use social networking sites to research your health, you could be in the minority, or majority, depending on which study you read.

Recently, a survey released by the …

Medical education

Residents assisting with your surgery can save lives, but at a cost

Kevin Pho, MD

March 30, 2011Mar 30, 201126

When undergoing surgery, would you want interns and residents present, and perhaps, assisting in the operation? That's a question patients face when going to an academic medical center. Some won't mind the presence of house staff. Some will. A recent…

When undergoing surgery, would you want interns and residents present, and perhaps, assisting in the operation?

That’s a question patients face when going to an academic medical center. Some won’t mind the presence of house staff. Some will.

A recent study provides some details on the outcomes.

In a column by …

Social media in medicine

Guiding patients online is a new physician responsibility for the digital age

Kevin Pho, MD

March 25, 2011Mar 25, 201115

The following op-ed was published on February 22nd, 2011 in AOL News. If you woke up one day with an earache, you could call your doctor's office for help. Or you could do what the majority of patients do today…

The following op-ed was published on February 22nd, 2011 in AOL News.

If you woke up one day with an earache, you could call your doctor’s office for help. Or you could do what the majority of patients do today and Google what to do first.

Type “earache” into your Web browser and the results can vary wildly. Search engines can return results saying that an earache can be from the common cold, …

Health technology

How to convince doctors to embrace electronic medical records

Kevin Pho, MD

March 22, 2011Mar 22, 201154

Doctors are now incentivized to convert antiquated paper charts to electronic medical records. Despite a few doctors who love their EMR, most readers here at KevinMD.com are skeptical, as the difficulties in transitioning, along with questionable benefits, have been well…

Doctors are now incentivized to convert antiquated paper charts to electronic medical records.

Despite a few doctors who love their EMR, most readers here at KevinMD.com are skeptical, as the difficulties in transitioning, along with questionable benefits, have been well chronicled.

Recently, the Washington …

Medical education

Match Day 2011: Family medicine grows, but enough to save primary care?

Kevin Pho, MD

March 17, 2011Mar 17, 201111

Match Day marks one of the most important days in a medical student's career. A computer algorithm "matches" prospective doctors with the residency program they're destined go to. It's also a look at the future trends for various specialties. With…

Match Day marks one of the most important days in a medical student’s career.

A computer algorithm “matches” prospective doctors with the residency program they’re destined go to.

It’s also a look at the future trends for various specialties. With a major part of health reform about to be implemented, one naturally gravitates towards primary care, where there currently is a …

Drugs and prescribing

Will iodine and potassium iodide protect against radiation from Japan?

Kevin Pho, MD

March 16, 2011Mar 16, 20118

People in the United States are rushing out to take iodine pills, specifically in the form of potassium iodide, to combat the threat of radiation spreading from the nuclear events stemming from the Japan earthquake and tsunami. There are numerous…

There are numerous reports that pharmacies in California have run out of the drug.

Potassium iodide works when the thyroid takes it up, instead of the potentially dangerous radioactive iodine that comes from a …

Health policy

Health costs need to be addressed by doctors, patients, and lawyers

Kevin Pho, MD

March 15, 2011Mar 15, 201128

It's no secret that our health system encourages doctors to order too many tests. Compounded with the widespread belief that more tests equates to better medicine, the reasons why health costs are spiraling out of control aren't a secret. In…

It’s no secret that our health system encourages doctors to order too many tests. Compounded with the widespread belief that more tests equates to better medicine, the reasons why health costs are spiraling out of control aren’t a secret.

In a perspective piece from the New England Journal of Medicine, physician Sean Palfrey notes our dire situation:

Recent advances

…

Physician voices

Why team based primary care won’t help evidence based medicine soon

Kevin Pho, MD

March 11, 2011Mar 11, 201114

Despite the advances in evidence-based medicine, not every patient benefits. In a recent column from the New York Times, Pauline Chen looks at a study showing exploring the issue: For many patients, evidence-based medicine isn’t working. Two-thirds of patients with…

Despite the advances in evidence-based medicine, not every patient benefits.

In a recent column from the New York Times, Pauline Chen looks at a study showing exploring the issue:

For many patients, evidence-based medicine isn’t working. Two-thirds of patients with diabetes, a disease with some of the strongest evidence-based guidelines available, continue to have trouble controlling their blood sugar levels; and only half of all

…

Physician voices

What is a difficult patient, and how doctors may be responsible

Kevin Pho, MD

March 9, 2011Mar 9, 201159

What, exactly, is a difficult patient? Doctors can tell many tales of what they term as a difficult encounter. Just as many patients can recall doctors whom they would say are difficult to work with as well. According to a…

What, exactly, is a difficult patient?

Doctors can tell many tales of what they term as a difficult encounter. Just as many patients can recall doctors whom they would say are difficult to work with as well.

According to a study from the Journal of General Internal Medicine, here’s a definition:

Patients deemed difficult included those with more than five symptoms, severe symptoms or an underlying mental disorder or were less functional. These …

Physician voices

Are doctors ordering too many tests, or practicing a new standard?

Kevin Pho, MD

March 8, 2011Mar 8, 201127

Are medical students and new doctors overly reliant on tests and technology to make diagnoses? That's an interesting thought I had when reading the latest TIME.com piece from emergency physicians Jesse M. Pines and Dr. Zachary F. Meisel. In their…

Are medical students and new doctors overly reliant on tests and technology to make diagnoses?

That’s an interesting thought I had when reading the latest TIME.com piece from emergency physicians Jesse M. Pines and Dr. Zachary F. Meisel.

In their article, they give reasons why doctors order too many tests.

Of course, they cite defensive purposes, saying, “once a doctor has presented an …

Physician voices

Understanding patient violence against health care workers

Kevin Pho, MD

March 3, 2011Mar 3, 201137

The following op-ed was published on February 2, 2011 in USA Today. Last fall, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital was shot by the distraught son of a patient for whom he was caring. The man later killed his mother,…

The following op-ed was published on February 2, 2011 in USA Today.

Last fall, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital was shot by the distraught son of a patient for whom he was caring. The man later killed his mother, then himself. A week earlier, a patient in a Long Island, N.Y., hospital beat his nurse with a leg from a broken chair, causing serious injuries. The following month, a psychiatric …

Drugs and prescribing

Nurse practitioners and their relationships with pharma

Kevin Pho, MD

February 25, 2011Feb 25, 201124

Doctors have been under significant scrutiny over the years regarding their relationships with pharmaceutical companies. Some states have even gone as far as banning events like drug company-sponsored dinners and other pharma-funded educational events. An increasing number of medical schools…

Doctors have been under significant scrutiny over the years regarding their relationships with pharmaceutical companies.

Some states have even gone as far as banning events like drug company-sponsored dinners and other pharma-funded educational events. An increasing number of medical schools and hospitals simply won’t allow an industry presence.

Whether you think it’s gone too far is certainly debatable, but let’s look at another group which can prescribe medications and examine their relationship …

Health policy

Defensive medicine accounts for 20 percent of MRI scans and x-rays

Kevin Pho, MD

February 24, 2011Feb 24, 201167

In the first, known prospective study, Pennsylvania orthopedic surgeons admitted that almost 20% of the imaging studies they ordered were for defensive purposes. All of the previous data that hinted at the rampant practice of defensive medicine relied on surveys…

In the first, known prospective study, Pennsylvania orthopedic surgeons admitted that almost 20% of the imaging studies they ordered were for defensive purposes.

All of the previous data that hinted at the rampant practice of defensive medicine relied on surveys or other forms of retrospective data.

In this study,

A total of 72 orthopedic surgeons agreed to participate, submitting information on a

…

Physician voices

Physicians disgrace the University of Wisconsin with fake doctor notes

Kevin Pho, MD

February 23, 2011Feb 23, 201158

One of the stories circulating regarding the demonstrations in Wisconsin is the authenticity of the doctor work notes. Squarely in the cross-hairs are physicians from the University of Wisconsin's Department of Family Medicine. According to this excellent piece in The…

One of the stories circulating regarding the demonstrations in Wisconsin is the authenticity of the doctor work notes.

Squarely in the cross-hairs are physicians from the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Family Medicine.

According to this excellent piece in The Atlantic by physician-writer Ford Vox,

In videos breathlessly presented throughout the conservative mediasphere this weekend, doctor after doctor is videotaped writing patently fraudulent sick notes so that the protesting teachers (whose contracts

…

Physician voices

How patients and doctors can improve the primary care office visit

Kevin Pho, MD

February 22, 2011Feb 22, 20118

Consumer Reports recently released a survey of both patients and primary care doctors, regarding their perceptions of each other. Some interesting findings, as summarized by the WSJ's Health Blog: On the issue of respect and appreciation, 70% of doctors said…

Consumer Reports recently released a survey of both patients and primary care doctors, regarding their perceptions of each other.

Some interesting findings, as summarized by the WSJ’s Health Blog:

On the issue of respect and appreciation, 70% of doctors said they were getting less of it from patients than when they started practicing. For patients, meantime, the more they reported being treated respectfully and listened to, the more satisfied they were

…

Medical education

Medical students should not be liable for malpractice

Kevin Pho, MD

February 21, 2011Feb 21, 201194

Should medical students receive immunity from malpractice liability? That's an interesting question that's raised in a bill from Arizona. According to the Arizona Daily Sun, State lawmakers are moving to keep patients injured by medical students from being able to…

Should medical students receive immunity from malpractice liability?

That’s an interesting question that’s raised in a bill from Arizona.

According to the Arizona Daily Sun,

State lawmakers are moving to keep patients injured by medical students from being able to sue them.

But proponents said that won’t leave victims without recourse.

SB1429, awaiting full Senate action, would spell out that students are not liable for malpractice if they are under the supervision of a

…