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Kevin Pho, MD

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Kevin Pho, MD

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

363 articles on KevinMD

About Kevin Pho, MD

Articles, page 5

How can doctors maintain a consistent brand online?

A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. Physicians can brand themselves on social media platforms by using what I call a hub and spoke…

A continuing series on physician online reputation.  Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. 

Physicians can brand themselves on social media platforms by using what I call a hub and spoke strategy. Physicians should have a central hub. It could be a blog or their practice’s website. This is where they can create their content. …

Read more…

How can doctors maintain a consistent brand online?

Why is an online reputation important for physicians?

A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. A physician's online reputation is important because more patients than ever are going online to research their…

A continuing series on physician online reputation.  Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. 

A physician’s online reputation is important because more patients than ever are going online to research their doctors. They’re going to search engines like Google and Googling their doctor’s names. If you Google my name, for instance, my blog comes up, …

Read more…

Why is an online reputation important for physicians?

The ABIM response to Newsweek determines how far anti-MOC sentiment will spread

15

Regular readers here are well-versed on the controversy surrounding maintenance of certification (MOC) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The story recently made mainstream news, with a comprehensive recap by Newsweek senior writer Kurt Eichenwald: The Ugly Civil…

Regular readers here are well-versed on the controversy surrounding maintenance of certification (MOC) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).

The story recently made mainstream news, with a comprehensive recap by Newsweek senior writer Kurt Eichenwald: The Ugly Civil War in American Medicine.  Go read it.

The ABIM subsequently released a strongly-worded statement.  They are clearly not happy with the mainstream media spread …

Read more…

The ABIM response to Newsweek determines how far anti-MOC sentiment will spread

MOC is medicine’s self-inflicted wound

46

Right now, there's nothing more angst-producing to physicians than maintenance of certification (MOC). Go to the physician-only message board Sermo, and you'll see dozens of threads on the topic. Not surprisingly, all are negative. But rather than debating MOC itself…

Right now, there’s nothing more angst-producing to physicians than maintenance of certification (MOC).

Go to the physician-only message board Sermo, and you’ll see dozens of threads on the topic.  Not surprisingly, all are negative.

But rather than debating MOC itself in this post (if you want to do that, there are other places to do so), I want to take a step back …

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MOC is medicine’s self-inflicted wound

How to fix maintenance of certification: Here’s what I’d do

13

There's a lot of angst when it comes to board recertification. The general consensus is that doctors find the requirements onerous, while a more cynical segment calls the whole process a money-making operation for our professional societies and those that…

There’s a lot of angst when it comes to board recertification.  The general consensus is that doctors find the requirements onerous, while a more cynical segment calls the whole process a money-making operation for our professional societies and those that profit from recertification courses and materials.

Cardiologist Wes Fisher has articulated the many criticisms against board recertification: “Does board recertification …

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How to fix maintenance of certification: Here’s what I’d do

The highest rated doctors may not provide the best care

4

The public can rate and review most things today: books, hotels, and restaurants, to name a few. Even doctors. There are more options than ever where patients can rate their doctors online, and hospitals also routinely survey patients about how…

A version of column was published in USA Today on September 14, 2014.

The public can rate and review most things today: books, hotels, and restaurants, to name a few.  Even doctors.  There are more options than ever where patients can rate their doctors online, and hospitals also routinely survey patients about how satisfied they are with their physicians. But while you’re pretty much …

Read more…

The highest rated doctors may not provide the best care

Are American doctors paid too much or too little?

120

USA Today on July 2, 2014. There are some who think that I’m overpaid as a physician, and that my salary fuels rising health costs. I can understand their point: A May 2014 survey released by the Medical Group Management…

A version of column was published in USA Today on July 2, 2014.

There are some who think that I’m overpaid as a physician, and that my salary fuels rising health costs.  I can understand their point: A May 2014 survey released by the Medical Group Management Association found that internal medicine doctors like myself have a starting median annual salary of $190,000, …

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Are American doctors paid too much or too little?

How physicians should respond to online ratings: Lessons from the Union Street Guest House

2

What can physicians learn from the Union Street Guest House? For those who don't know, this hotel in New York threatened to fine those who dared write a bad review. The New York Post got wind of this, and needless…

What can physicians learn from the Union Street Guest House?

For those who don’t know, this hotel in New York threatened to fine those who dared write a bad review.  The New York Post got wind of this, and needless to say, the fallout has been ugly. The hotel has hundreds of 1-star reviews of Yelp for its efforts.

This leads to a question I commonly …

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How physicians should respond to online ratings: Lessons from the Union Street Guest House

Why the VA scandal is a red flag for single-payer advocates

42

"I will not stand for it.” That’s what President Obama said about the deepening VA health care crisis. It’s also a lightening rod for how partisans want to frame the ongoing health debate. Some are eager to link the VA…

“I will not stand for it.”

That’s what President Obama said about the deepening VA health care crisis.  It’s also a lightening rod for how partisans want to frame the ongoing health debate.

Some are eager to link the VA scandal to Obamacare, and more broadly, government-run health care.

Others extol the virtues of the VA, holding it …

Read more…

Why the VA scandal is a red flag for single-payer advocates

Pay me like a French doctor. You know you want to.

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Whenever new physician salary data is released, reporters and policy experts often compare doctor salaries in the United States to those of other countries: most notably, France. And on cue, Vox's Sarah Kliff -- normally an excellent health care writer,…

Whenever new physician salary data is released, reporters and policy experts often compare doctor salaries in the United States to those of other countries: most notably, France.

And on cue, Vox’s Sarah Kliff — normally an excellent health care writer, by the way — is uncharacteristically lazy in framing physician salaries through a biased lens.

After presenting the …

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Pay me like a French doctor. You know you want to.

Why I’m not ready to prescribe mobile health apps

A version of column was published in USA Today on April 2, 2014. Patients in my clinic increasingly use health apps on their mobile devices. Many of these apps track various health metrics, such as weight or calories eaten, while…

A version of column was published in USA Today on April 2, 2014.

Patients in my clinic increasingly use health apps on their mobile devices.  Many of these apps track various health metrics, such as weight or calories eaten, while others go a step further and help patients make sense of their symptoms or even suggest diagnoses.  It’s estimated that 500 million people worldwide will use a health app by 2015, with the …

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Why I’m not ready to prescribe mobile health apps

Why you need to hear from miserable doctors

146

Is being a physician a good gig, or not? In a piece that's gone viral, internist Daniela Drake writes a strongly-worded column in the Daily Beast about how miserable it is to be a physician: To be sure many people…

Is being a physician a good gig, or not?

In a piece that’s gone viral, internist Daniela Drake writes a strongly-worded column in the Daily Beast about how miserable it is to be a physician:

To be sure many people with good intentions are working toward solving the healthcare crisis. But the answers they’ve come up with are driving up costs and

…

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Why you need to hear from miserable doctors

Growing hospital networks create a tension for health reformers

2

A version of column was published on March 5, 2014 in the New York Times’ Room for Debate blog. To remedy our fragmented health system, reformers want to consolidate health care. President Obama, for instance, has praised integrated health systems…

A version of column was published on March 5, 2014 in the New York Times’ Room for Debate blog.

To remedy our fragmented health system, reformers want to consolidate health care.  President Obama, for instance, has praised integrated health systems like the Mayo Clinic as a model for national reform.  To that end, the Affordable Care Act drives more hospitals to become more Mayo-like by purchasing physician practices.  Today, about 39% …

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Growing hospital networks create a tension for health reformers

The alarming decline of internal medicine recertification pass rates

18

Let's talk internal medicine maintenance of certification (MOC). I recertified back in 2011, and it was an onerous process capped off with a challenging exam. Thankfully I passed, and I'm good until 2022. Since then, the American Board of Internal…

Let’s talk internal medicine maintenance of certification (MOC).

I recertified back in 2011, and it was an onerous process capped off with a challenging exam.  Thankfully I passed, and I’m good until 2022.

Since then, the American Board of Internal Medicine has made maintenance of certification a more “continuous” process, and is sparking some outcry among physicians.  Wes Fisher has multiple posts …

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The alarming decline of internal medicine recertification pass rates

Electronic medical records obstruct patient interaction

18

A version of column was published in USA Today on January 19, 2014. Over half of physicians today use electronic medical records, thanks to the federal government spending more than $22 billion dollars incentivizing providers to transition away from paper…

A version of column was published in USA Today on January 19, 2014.

Over half of physicians today use electronic medical records, thanks to the federal government spending more than $22 billion dollars incentivizing providers to transition away from paper charts.  Supporters of digital records, including President Obama, say they improve patient care and reduce health costs.  Having navigated a transition from paper charts to electronic records in my own practice, …

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Electronic medical records obstruct patient interaction

Mammograms: Breast cancer screening as an individual patient decision

44

In a major cancer screening development, a study from the British Medical Journal found that an annual screening mammography didn't result in a mortality benefit: Women screened annually by mammography for 5 years had had a breast cancer mortality hazard…

In a major cancer screening development, a study from the British Medical Journal found that an annual screening mammography didn’t result in a mortality benefit:

Women screened annually by mammography for 5 years had had a breast cancer mortality hazard of 1.05 compared with the control group during the screening period. During follow-up for a mean of 22 years, the mammography group

…

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Mammograms: Breast cancer screening as an individual patient decision

Invite a primary care physician to the State of the Union

A version of this column was published on January 26, 2014 in the New York Times’ Room for Debate blog. The president should invite someone crucial to the success of the Affordable Care Act: a practicing primary care physician. Obamacare…

A version of this column was published on January 26, 2014 in the New York Times’ Room for Debate blog.

The president should invite someone crucial to the success of the Affordable Care Act: a practicing primary care physician.

Obamacare admirably expands the opportunity to purchase affordable health insurance to the previously uninsured tens of millions, either by expanding Medicaid or through health exchanges like HealthCare.gov.  Yet without a strong primary care backbone, those …

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Invite a primary care physician to the State of the Union

Why Medicaid patients use the emergency department for primary care

40

A study from Science found that those on Medicaid in Oregon made 40% more visits to the emergency department. The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment included about 90,000 low-income people and assigned 30,000 of them to Medicaid by lottery. It's essentially…

A study from Science found that those on Medicaid in Oregon made 40% more visits to the emergency department.

The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment included about 90,000 low-income people and assigned 30,000 of them to Medicaid by lottery. It’s essentially a naturally-occurring randomized controlled trial.

The result seems to have caught the public policy experts by off guard:

“I suspect that the finding will be surprising to many in the

…

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Why Medicaid patients use the emergency department for primary care

Herbal supplements may be natural, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe

9

A version of column was published in USA Today on November 20, 2013. I once diagnosed a patient with high cholesterol, and prescribed him a medicine commonly known as a statin. When I saw him months later for follow-up, he…

A version of column was published in USA Today on November 20, 2013.

I once diagnosed a patient with high cholesterol, and prescribed him a medicine commonly known as a statin.   When I saw him months later for follow-up, he admitted that he didn’t fill the prescription.

“I took red yeast rice capsules instead,” he said.

When I asked him why, he told me that he was wary of statins’ long list of side effects …

Read more…

Herbal supplements may be natural, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe

New cholesterol guidelines: The statin decision lies with patients

8

The release of the new cholesterol guidelines from the ACC/AHA is big news. It represents a fundamental shift in how we prescribe statin drugs. As with many sweeping changes, there are some good, and some controversial ideas. I like removing…

The release of the new cholesterol guidelines from the ACC/AHA is big news.  It represents a fundamental shift in how we prescribe statin drugs.

As with many sweeping changes, there are some good, and some controversial ideas.

I like removing non-statin cholesterol drugs from the recommendations, such as Zetia.  Many haven’t been shown to save lives or decrease cardiovascular events.

Also, removing LDL targets can simplify …

Read more…

New cholesterol guidelines: The statin decision lies with patients

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