Kevin Pho, MD
Kevin Pho, MD, is a practicing, board-certified internal medicine physician and the founder and editor of KevinMD, which he built from scratch in 2004 to give clinicians and patients a place to be heard. Over two decades, it has become one of the most recognizable physician-led publications in health care, drawing more than 7 million annual page views and over 500,000 followers across social media. He still sees patients in primary care in Nashua, New Hampshire, the practice he says keeps the platform honest.
He is the host of The Podcast by KevinMD, a daily, 15-minute show that has surpassed 2,000 episodes and 2.6 million IAB-certified downloads, featuring physicians, patients, caregivers, founders, and health care leaders in conversation about what they actually see and do. He is also a national media commentator and the coauthor of Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices.
An acclaimed keynote speaker, Kevin speaks nationwide to clinicians and non-clinicians on health care, digital media, physician leadership, and burnout. His signature keynote, "Connect and be heard: Make a difference in health care with social media," traces his social media journey since 2004 and inspires audiences to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, make their voices heard in health reform, and turn the tide against clinician burnout. He is the founder of Physician Speaking by KevinMD, a physician-run speakers bureau, and is available for speaking opportunities.
Kevin earned his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center. The New York Times called KevinMD "a highly-coveted publishing place for doctors and patients," and Forbes called it a "must-read health blog." He is an inductee of the Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame, a recipient of the American Medical Writers Association McGovern Award, and a New Hampshire Magazine Top Doctor.
KevinMD
Medical students today consider lifestyle an essential criteria when choosing a specialty. It's become a cliche that most are looking towards the ROAD (radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology and dermatology) to happiness. There's been some recent media attention at how women are…
Medical students today consider lifestyle an essential criteria when choosing a specialty.
It’s become a cliche that most are looking towards the ROAD (radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology and dermatology) to happiness.
There’s been some recent media attention at how women are lured to specialties that offer a greater balance between their family lifestyle and professional demands.
Claudia Golden, a Harvard economics professor, recently noted that,
high-paying careers that offer more help in balancing work
…
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Lifestyle matters for specialties that want to survive
KevinMD
There's little question that CT scans are on the rise, especially in the emergency department. A recent paper from Radiology put a number to the increased frequency of the test, concluding, CT, a radiology tool that once took nine days…
There’s little question that CT scans are on the rise, especially in the emergency department.
A recent paper from Radiology put a number to the increased frequency of the test, concluding,
CT, a radiology tool that once took nine days to finish, was used 16.2 million times in 2007 to diagnose headaches, stomach aches, back pain, chest pain and the like. That was a huge increase from 1995 when it was
…
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The reassurance of a CT scan in the emergency department
KevinMD
There has been significant media attention on a New England Journal of Medicine case report where a surgeon, Massachusetts General Hospital's David Ring, described how he operated on the wrong hand of a patient. Here's a summary of the case:…
There has been significant media attention on a New England Journal of Medicine case report where a surgeon, Massachusetts General Hospital’s David Ring, described how he operated on the wrong hand of a patient.
Here’s a summary of the case:
Ring, along with colleagues at Massachusetts General and Harvard Medical School, detailed the series of missteps that led to the wrong operation in the patient whose ring finger on her
…
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The malpractice system doesn’t improve patient safety
KevinMD
The following op-ed was published on October 27th, 2010 in USA Today. When I ask new patients how they found me, frequently they say on the Internet through search engines such as Google. Out of curiosity, I recently Googled myself.…
The following op-ed was published on October 27th, 2010 in USA Today.
When I ask new patients how they found me, frequently they say on the Internet through search engines such as Google.
Out of curiosity, I recently Googled myself. Numerous ads appeared, promising readers a “detailed background report” or a “profile” of me. Among the search results was information about my practice, whether I was board certified, had any lawsuits against …
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Do online physician rating sites help patients to choose a good doctor?
KevinMD
Hospitals have recently been stepping up their infection control procedures, in the wake of news about iatrogenic infections afflicting patients when they are admitted. Doctors are increasingly wearing a variety of protective garb -- gowns, gloves and masks -- while…
Hospitals have recently been stepping up their infection control procedures, in the wake of news about iatrogenic infections afflicting patients when they are admitted.
Doctors are increasingly wearing a variety of protective garb — gowns, gloves and masks — while seeing patients.
In an interesting New York Times column, Pauline Chen wonders how this affects the doctor-patient relationship.
She cites a study from the Annals of Family Medicine, which concluded that,
fear of
…
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Balancing infection control with the patient experience
KevinMD
The bipartisan debt commission appointed by President Obama recently released its recommendations on how to pare the country's debt. Of interest to doctors is the suggestion to change the way doctors are paid. Physician lobbies have been advocating for removal…
The bipartisan debt commission appointed by President Obama recently released its recommendations on how to pare the country’s debt.
Of interest to doctors is the suggestion to change the way doctors are paid. Physician lobbies have been advocating for removal of the Sustainable Growth Rate formula — the flawed method by which Medicare, and subsequently private insurers, pays doctors.
According to this method, physicians are due for a pay cut of …
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Medical malpractice reform in exchange for paying doctors less
KevinMD
When patients undergo medical treatment -- like radiation therapy for prostate cancer, for instance -- little is reported about the lifelong side effects that can arise. That's because outcomes have disproportionally focused on survival. Whether a patient has incontinence, impotent,…
When patients undergo medical treatment — like radiation therapy for prostate cancer, for instance — little is reported about the lifelong side effects that can arise.
That’s because outcomes have disproportionally focused on survival. Whether a patient has incontinence, impotent, or blood in the urine stemming from prostate cancer therapy has largely been overshadowed.
In a recent New York Times’ column, Pauline Chen highlights the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. According to …
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Cancer screening and treatment cannot focus on mortality alone
KevinMD
Having more primary care physicians doesn't necessarily improve the quality of care. That may come as a surprise to regular readers of this blog, but that's one of the findings that came from a recent analysis of the Dartmouth Atlas.…
Having more primary care physicians doesn’t necessarily improve the quality of care.
That may come as a surprise to regular readers of this blog, but that’s one of the findings that came from a recent analysis of the Dartmouth Atlas.
As reported by the WSJ’s Health Blog,
having regular primary-care visits isn’t a guarantee of receiving recommended care. There was “no relationship” between rates of breast cancer screening for women age 67-69
…
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Primary care private practice will die, will patients benefit?
KevinMD
A social media manager is becoming an imperative position for hospitals. Medical institutions are waking up to the fact that they need to engage their patients and physicians online. No where is there more fertile growth than in the various…
A social media manager is becoming an imperative position for hospitals.
Medical institutions are waking up to the fact that they need to engage their patients and physicians online. No where is there more fertile growth than in the various social media platforms that are prevalent today — like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
American Medical News recently profiled the phenomenon, highlighting the position of social media manager, which some institutions pay between …
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Can a social media manager convince doctors to get online?
KevinMD
Lung cancer screening has been an area of considerable controversy. Before today, there had been no evidence that screening patients for lung cancer, either with a CT scan or chest x-ray, saved lives. For years, doctors have been waiting for…
Lung cancer screening has been an area of considerable controversy. Before today, there had been no evidence that screening patients for lung cancer, either with a CT scan or chest x-ray, saved lives.
For years, doctors have been waiting for the results of the large, randomized National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), conducted by the National Cancer Institute.
This morning, it was announced that the trial was stopped early, with a …
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Screening for lung cancer with a CT scan: What the NLST results mean
KevinMD
Hospitals nationwide are racing against the clock to ensure their health IT systems meet meaningful use guidelines. The incentive? Money, of course. Systems that meet certain criteria make doctors eligible for up to $44,000 in bonus money from the government.…
Hospitals nationwide are racing against the clock to ensure their health IT systems meet meaningful use guidelines.
The incentive? Money, of course. Systems that meet certain criteria make doctors eligible for up to $44,000 in bonus money from the government.
As mentioned on this blog previously, implementing an electronic health system is difficult. The usability of the current generation of EHRs is still relatively primitive, especially when compared to other industries, and …
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Health IT will provide job security for the foreseeable future
KevinMD
Doctors: if you're sick, don't go to work. The stereotype of doctors is that they go to work, despite whatever symptoms ail them. Calling in sick places strain on colleagues. Especially in residency, where team members are expected to pick…
Doctors: if you’re sick, don’t go to work.
The stereotype of doctors is that they go to work, despite whatever symptoms ail them. Calling in sick places strain on colleagues. Especially in residency, where team members are expected to pick up the slack.
In a recent column, the New York Times’ Pauline Chen discusses the image of self-sacrifice that a sick doctor going to work portrays:
Hacking, febrile or racked with the
…
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Sick doctors who work are doing more harm to their patients than good
KevinMD
Is the doctor-patient relationship really more sacrosanct than the nurse-patient relationship? That's the provocative question asked by Theresa Brown in a recent column from Well, the New York Times' health blog. She discusses an instance when she had a disagreement…
Is the doctor-patient relationship really more sacrosanct than the nurse-patient relationship?
That’s the provocative question asked by Theresa Brown in a recent column from Well, the New York Times’ health blog.
She discusses an instance when she had a disagreement with a physician over a patient care issue.
I couldn’t believe that this doctor, who had always worked well with the nurses on my floor, had just suggested, at least in my
…
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The doctor patient relationship in team-based patient care
KevinMD
Ezra Klein calls Peter Orszag's proposal in a recent New York Times column a "new idea on medical malpractice reform." Except it's really not. The idea of immunizing doctors who follow strict clinical practice guidelines was floated by the AMA…
Ezra Klein calls Peter Orszag’s proposal in a recent New York Times column a “new idea on medical malpractice reform.”
Except it’s really not.
The idea of immunizing doctors who follow strict clinical practice guidelines was floated by the AMA back in May of 2009. I supported the idea back then, saying the AMA is
acknowledging and embracing the data that is very influential in the White House, as well
…
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Medical malpractice immunity from clinical practice guidelines
KevinMD
Authors of a recent study from the Archives of Internal Medicine are unlikely to endear themselves to specialists. As reported by Reuters, and provocatively titled, Do specialist doctors make too much money?, the study gives a per-hour breakdown of how…
Authors of a recent study from the Archives of Internal Medicine are unlikely to endear themselves to specialists.
As reported by Reuters, and provocatively titled, Do specialist doctors make too much money?, the study gives a per-hour breakdown of how much doctors make.
I think this is a good approach, since annual salary figures do not account for the number of hours doctors work — and in the case of primary …
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Specialist and primary care pay per hour
KevinMD
Dr. Robert Sears' The Vaccine Book, is, as Rahul Parikh puts it, "a nightmare for pediatricians like me." In a piece from Salon, Dr. Parikh brings his issues to the author. The controversy of the book is the so-called "alternative…
Dr. Robert Sears’ The Vaccine Book, is, as Rahul Parikh puts it, “a nightmare for pediatricians like me.”
In a piece from Salon, Dr. Parikh brings his issues to the author. The controversy of the book is the so-called “alternative vaccine schedule,” which, as vaccine developer Paul Offit puts it,
is “misrepresentation of vaccine science” that “misinforms parents trying to make the right decision for their children” in the Journal of Pediatrics.
…
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Public health fears will not sway parent opinion on vaccines
Conditions and Diseases
One of the supposed strengths of electronic medical records is better tracking of test data. In theory, when using more sophisticated digital systems, doctors can better follow the mountains of test results that they encounter daily. But a recent study,…
One of the supposed strengths of electronic medical records is better tracking of test data.
In theory, when using more sophisticated digital systems, doctors can better follow the mountains of test results that they encounter daily.
But a recent study, as written in the WSJ Health Blog, says otherwise.
Apparently, a study performed in 2007 found,
VA doctors failed to acknowledge receipt of 368 electronically transmitted alerts about abnormal imaging tests, or one third
…
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Too much data can overwhelm physicians and harm patients
Health Policy
Peter Orszag wants doctors to work weekends. The former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget wrote as much in this past weekend's New York Times: Doctors, like most people, don’t love to work weekends, and they…
Peter Orszag wants doctors to work weekends.
The former director of the White House Office of Management and Budget wrote as much in this past weekend’s New York Times:
Doctors, like most people, don’t love to work weekends, and they probably don’t enjoy being evaluated against their peers. But their industry can no longer afford to protect them from the inevitable. Imagine a drugstore open only five days a week, or
…
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Doctors should work weekends, and how reformers alienate physicians
Physician
Boston Medical Center has provided care to the underserved and Medicaid population in Boston for almost 150 years. And what's happening to the venerable institution is gut-wrenching to read. I trained at Boston Medical Center (BMC), completing my internal medicine…
Boston Medical Center has provided care to the underserved and Medicaid population in Boston for almost 150 years. And what’s happening to the venerable institution is gut-wrenching to read.
I trained at Boston Medical Center (BMC), completing my internal medicine residency there in 2002. A recent write-up in Boston Magazine highlights the financial trouble the hospital is going through:
Boston Medical Center is almost broke, perilously close to what
…
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Boston Medical Center gets screwed by the Massachusetts government
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