Kevin Pho is a practicing, board-certified internal medicine physician, a national media commentator, co-author of the book, Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices, and an acclaimed keynote speaker. He is founder and editor, KevinMD.com, and founder, Physician Speaking by KevinMD.
These perspectives define his unique social media journey, and his story has brought audiences to their feet.
Kevin shares his story nationwide with both clinicians and non-clinicians, and regularly keynotes major conferences.
Kevin built the KevinMD platform from scratch in 2004. It now receives over 3 million monthly page views, and exceeds 250,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter. Kevin was named the web’s top social media influencer in health care and medicine. The New York Times called KevinMD “a highly-coveted publishing place for doctors and patients.” Forbes called KevinMD a “must-read health blog.” And CNN named @KevinMD one of its five recommended Twitter health feeds.
Kevin’s signature keynote, “Connect and be heard: Make a difference in heath care with social media,” takes your audience through Kevin’s social media journey since 2004. With video, audio, and an emphasis on storytelling, he inspires audiences to use social media and be health care influencers in the following ways:
Kevin is the founder of Physician Speaking by KevinMD and is available for speaking opportunities. Please contact us for inquiries.
Pediatrician Rahul Parikh has a great piece in Salon, Why doctors can’t say no. You should go read it.
In the piece, he cites a recent study showing that, in about 10 to 25% of cases, patients come into an office visit with an agenda, or something specific they request.
It can be an antibiotic, x-ray or a scan, for instance.
The kicker …
Why doctors need to be better negotiators
Medicare is beginning to tie financial bonuses to hospital patient satisfaction scores.
Although patient satisfaction is important, I’ve voiced concern in the past about giving hospitals a financial incentive to cater to patient surveys.
In a previous USA Today column, I wrote, “already, more than 80% of doctors … said patient pressure influenced their medical decisions. And in primary care, linking …
How patient satisfaction scores reward rich hospitals
As the cost of health insurance rises, patient deductibles are getting bigger.
More doctors are reporting that patients are coming in less frequently for chronic care followups, skipping medication refills, or balking at the out of pocket costs for various tests.
Sometimes, however, this can get physicians into trouble.
I was reading through a copy of Massachusetts Medical Law Report, and saw this …
The malpractice risk of high deductibles
The following op-ed was published on September 18, 2011 in USA Today.
A fellow physician recently shared a frustrating clinic visit with me, in which a patient had left by saying, “You doctors need to wake up and realize that patients (who are) in pain are in a no-win situation.”
The patient was absolutely right. This summer, the Institute of Medicine released …
Doctors and patients cannot win when it comes to chronic pain
Thankfully, there have been more news stories recently illustrating the overuse of tests.
Specifically with cancer screening, the PSA test and mammograms have come under increasing scrutiny.
I think this type of media attention is long overdue, as the public needs to be aware of the potential downsides of diagnostic tests.
Now comes the MRI.
A recent piece in the New …
The media’s role in educating patients about MRI overuse
Cancer screening has always been an emotional topic.
In recent years, both prostate and breast cancer screening have come under increasing scrutiny. Studies are beginning to question the benefits of early detection, and, in the case of prostate cancer screening, whether more harm is done than good.
In fact, the USPSTF recently downgraded their prostate cancer screening recommendation.
In a recent study from …
The power of gut feeling in cancer screening
What are new medical graduates looking for in their first job?
According to American Medical News, they’re looking for jobs with the following criteria: “The most important items would be the ability to show a stable, growing practice and quality of life … The stability would come from a practice that generates most of their collections from commercial insurance, as Medicare …
How new doctors will kill private practice
Predictably, reactions to the USPSTF’s prostate cancer screening guidelines are all over the map.
Consider editorials from two national newspapers, the New York Times and USA Today.
USA Today wants readers to ignore the recommendations: “Here’s our suggestion for the 50-plus male: Get tested, then get smart. Information about prostate cancer and its treatment is readily available from the National Cancer …
Prostate cancer screening requires patient input
Prostate cancer screening has always been controversial.
Now, with the USPSTF is recommending against screening for prostate cancer, gas is about to be poured on the proverbial fire.
Recently, the New York Times Magazine published a lengthy piece on the issue, perhaps not coincidentally, perfectly timed with the Task Force’s announcement.
In 2009, advocates for breast cancer screening were up …
USPSTF prostate cancer screening guidelines need emotion to resonate
Last year, the USPSTF was poised to meet regarding its prostate cancer screening guidelines.
According the Kenny Lin, a physician who was with the Task Force at the time, the meeting was cancelled for political reasons. He points us to a New York Times story on the dueling narratives of prostate cancer screening.
It’s a topic that often appears here …
Cancer screening is plagued by dissonance
I’m going take on the Doctor Nurse controversy.
This isn’t a new issue, as the doctorate in nursing degree has been around for awhile. But a recent piece in the New York Times gave it new life.
The topic is a ripe invitation to “doctor bash,” with the predictable arguments about physicians protecting their turf, elitism, and the like.
Yawn.
To sample the …
Universal board certification can solve the Doctor Nurse controversy
Doctors order too many tests.
That’s not a surprise for regular readers of this site, but even the physicians themselves think so.
A recent survey reported that, “42% of the 627 respondents believed the patients in their own practice were getting too much care. Just 6% of doctors believed their patients were getting too little care … And 28% of the …
Progressive health reformers need doctors to change the health system
Presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has been in the health care headlines recently, saying the HPV vaccine was dangerous.
Although doctors and other health experts, along with editorials in major newspapers, rebutted her claims immediately, they didn’t stand a chance.
The damage was already done.
A piece from the New York Times explores the power both celebrities and politicians have when it comes to …
Doctors need celebrities to spread the vaccine message
Physicians are human, like everyone else.
And when things go wrong, like making a medical error or having a patient die, they suffer like most people would.
Pauline Chen writes about Schwartz Rounds in the New York Times, where, in a confidential environment, doctors and other health professionals can discuss challenging cases.
As Dr. Chen writes, “the discussions that ensue are …
Patients should care about physician stress and burnout
A recent study from Health Affairs took aim at physician salaries.
Well, not exactly their salaries, but fees. It’s a subtle difference, but that nuance is lost in the mainstream media narrative.
According to the study, “American primary care and orthopedic physicians are paid more for each service than are their counterparts in Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.”
Thankfully …
Targeting physician salaries is a poor strategy for health care costs
What would happen to physician salaries if the United States adopted a single payer system?
The concept of a single payer system is a progressive ideal, and has been vociferously pursued by some left-leaning physician groups. For a variety of reasons, not least of which is the political climate in our country, I think the chances of single payer happening …
How not to convince doctors to embrace single payer
I read somewhere in the comments here something to the effect of this: “Physicians are only good for one thing: doctoring.”
That would explain the general ineptitude of many physicians when it comes to skills outside medicine, such as political lobbying, or business and personal finance decisions.
The New York Times has written a helpful column that’s required reading for any new …
Doctors should learn personal finance during medical school
As access to medical information has become more common, patients are gaining empowerment in their medical care.
And rightly so. Gone are the days where medical decisions are paternalistic in nature, with the physician leading, and the patient following. Today, an ideal medical decision has input from both patient and provider.
But, have we gone too far the other way?
In a …
How much physician guidance do patients want with medical decisions?
Every year, according to a recent study from the New England Journal of Medicine, a typical physician has about a 7% chance of being sued for medical malpractice.
Surgeons almost certainly will face a malpractice claim sometime during their career. Neurosurgeons, for instance, have a 19.1% chance of being sued in a given year, while that number is 18.9% for …
The emotional costs of malpractice mean more to doctors than money
Darshak Sanghavi recently wrote an excellent piece in the New York Times summarizing the controversy over resident work hours.
The topic has been discussed here frequently, with ramifications ranging from the fact that errors arising from patient handoffs negate any benefit gained from restricting work hours, to surgeons not accumulating enough experience during their work hour-restricted training.
I’ve often …
Why work hour restrictions won’t improve patient safety
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