“I don’t know.”
That is an answer patients hate to hear. It is also an answer doctors hate to utter, and in truth, many of us fail to say those words when it would be proper to say them. Doctors spent long hours over many years of training, sacrificing personal time and family life. Most of us are perfectionists, and not knowing a medical diagnosis often feels like failure. Perhaps, the …
Stand up and be heard. But don’t hate your doctor.
As we approach Christmas, you only need to go to the nearest mall to witness the frenzied activity in preparation. People scurry around trying to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones and co-workers at the lowest prices. While gift-giving indeed is an act of love, many postulate that we have become lost in commercialism and materialism.
If we look deeper, there is another Christmas happening as well: the spread …
Why this physician believes in Santa Claus
As doctors, most of us went into medicine with a true desire to help other people. What was once a noble profession is now being worn down by outside forces trying to control us. Third-party insurance companies are driven by profits, not by optimal care of patients. Politicians are driven by their own political agendas and party alliances without even acknowledging the real problems existing in the health care system.
Most …
Has health care lost its humanity?
On Twitter recently, I saw a tweet that commented on the fact that there were too few black men who became doctors. I readily confess that I don’t know the reason why. I asked whether it is due to implicit bias or outright racism. Another doctor answered that both play a role. Although I have witnessed acts of racism and bias in the past, I can’t say I understand it …
Too few minorities become physicians. Why is that?
I was in a discussion with a group of patients about how difficult it is for patients to get access to their own medical records. It was initiated after one of my patients was refused copies of her recent hospitalization. There is much confusion out there about who actually owns the record and how it is allowed to be accessed. Most people are aware of HIPAA, the regulation set into …
Who actually owns your medical records?
It took me decades of studying, training, hard work, and sleepless nights to become a doctor. In approximately five years, I became a successful writer, editor, columnist, and a whole array of other titles assigned to that type of work. In under 3 seconds, I became a chronic pain patient for the rest of my life.
Around this time last year, I was taking my two dogs outdoors when they spotted …
The physician who became a chronic pain patient in seconds
Every day I receive all kinds of emails and other ads telling me about services offering me help to meet MIPS quality metrics. While they may be helpful, most doctors don’t see the need for such a program. It drives up costs in administering and time in needless metrics reporting. Yet, give us a new regulation and a whole industry is going to pop up to profit off of our …
Why MIPS is a useless mental exercise
In the U.S., we now have an outbreak of measles where the cases number more than it has in decades. Most of the people being infected are unvaccinated, and we’ve all seen the media reports of the growing tide of anti-vaxxers. While the CDC, WHO, and pretty much every medical and scientific authority across the globe stand by the efficacy and safety of vaccines, those opposed rather rely on the …
Death threats won’t stop this doctor from advocating for vaccines
Over the past year, multiple mega-mergers were announced in health care. The four largest ones being:
1. On March 18, 2018, Cigna announced that it was acquiring Express Scripts for $68 billion in cash and stocks. The deal was closed on December 20, 2018.
2. On December 3, 2017, CVS announced that they were acquiring Aetna for $69 billion in cash and stocks. The deal was officially closed on November 28. …
Doctors and patients should be wary of health care mega-mergers
No one wants to be sick, especially when no one can tell them what is wrong. In the U.S., we live in a culture where we want instant results; we want easy answers for complex problems. However, in medicine, there are often no easy fixes. Adverse medical events happen, despite our best efforts. For example, a young child was recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. While he and his …
How can doctors address patients’ expectations?
The news has recently reported the story about the Cleveland Clinic resident, Dr. Lara Kallab, who was fired after making anti-Semitic comments on twitter. Among them, she tweeted that, “I’ll purposely give all the [Jews] the wrong meds.” Not only were people horrified by her comments, but she also lost her job (and possibly career) because of it. However, was her punishment too harsh or not severe enough?
My opinion is …
There is no room for racism in medicine
So many people are suggesting that if only doctors practice self-care we could deflect burnout before it overtakes us. Yes, physicians are probably the worst professionals for taking care of ourselves. We work long hours, answer calls at all hours of the night, take little vacation, work in stressful situations, and often face hostility in the workplace. But this is not the reason we are burning out at high rates; …
Solving physician burnout requires so much more than self-care
As a family physician, I treat patients of all ages – children to those nearing 100 years old. One issue that plagues young and old alike is lack of sleep. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2016 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, more than one-third of American adults do not get enough sleep on a regular basis. This is a common …
Nocturia: the underdiagnosed condition patients find extremely distressing
It’s that time of year again when retail outlets start counting down the days to Christmas and deck their stores with holiday cheer. For many people, this time of year feels magical. Yet for others, it is a consumer competition to buy the absolute best gift at the lowest price. While both these groups love the holidays in their own way, there is a third group for which the holidays …
During this holiday season, be aware that some people are really suffering
Medical crises come in many forms: from illnesses to sudden injuries. Most often the victims are unsuspecting. They may be gradual in onset or happen in seconds. There are many causes, from faulty drivers to electrolyte disturbances. Mine was caused by a squirrel, a routine yard rodent. In less than three seconds, I went from a practicing physician with a heavy patient load to temporarily disabled.
Returning home from a busy …
What this physician learned after coming back from a medical crisis
Anyone following the debate around gun regulation knows it is a hotly charged issue. On November 7th, doctors got dragged front and center after the NRA issued the statement: “Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. Half of the articles in Annals of Internal Medicine are pushing for gun control. Most upsetting, however, the medical community seems to have consulted NO ONE but themselves.” …
Physicians should never leave the lane of gun violence
Health care policy has been a hotly debated political topic for many years now. In recent years, new laws passed the halls of Congress while others failed to gain any traction. Despite the rules that have rolled out, health insurance companies have been in the driver’s seat for decades.
While spokespersons for the health insurance industry will tell you that they do not make medical decisions. As a doctor, I can …
How do health insurance companies harm patients?
I doubt there is anyone living in the U.S. who doesn’t realize we have an opioid crisis here. Politicians debate the solutions to abating the high death rate that comes along with it, however, they fail to acknowledge that there are Americans in pain. Yes, we need to be sure opioids are prescribed judiciously. However, we also need to treat patients in pain.
As a doctor, it is not always easy …
What can politicians do to address the opioid crisis?
People like to think the worst about doctors: We don’t listen, we don’t care, we only want your money. But, the truth is we do care, and that is why most of us answered the calling to become doctors. That is why the burnout rate for doctors is so high.
Patients hate to wait in the waiting room for too long. But, truth is, I sometimes need to take a break …
The doctor inside never truly rests
Some days in medicine seem like an epic saga in which the world seems to be playing whack-the-doctor. It is easy to vilify doctors and cast much blame at them. And true, we bring some of this onto ourselves.
Today was one of those days, and by the end, I was just all too ready to run out of the office and go home. And then the last patient came and …
Simple words can sometimes make a big impact on physicians
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