Mark Kelley, MD
Mark Kelley is a pulmonologist.
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Latest articles
Medical education
I teach first-year medical students how to take a medical history and perform physical exams on patients. These skills are the foundation of medicine. The history and physical exam (plus a few basic tests) are time-tested methods for diagnosing disease.…
I teach first-year medical students how to take a medical history and perform physical exams on patients.
These skills are the foundation of medicine. The history and physical exam (plus a few basic tests) are time-tested methods for diagnosing disease. Using these tools, a skilled physician can reach an accurate diagnosis more often than not.
We humans share a standard range of symptoms. Pain, weight loss, fever, cough, abdominal complaints: They are …
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Why this physician teaches first-year medical students
Health policy
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as “Obamacare,” has survived several repeal attempts by Congress. Storm clouds, however, are still on the horizon. The ACA’s individual mandate obligates every American to be covered by comprehensive health insurance. This requirement…
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), widely known as “Obamacare,” has survived several repeal attempts by Congress. Storm clouds, however, are still on the horizon.
The ACA’s individual mandate obligates every American to be covered by comprehensive health insurance. This requirement has been the most unpopular feature of the law. That’s because healthy people, especially those who are self-employed or between jobs, have found the ACA premiums too expensive.
They are not alone. Health …
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The skinny on skinny health insurance
Conditions and diseases
Walking down the street, I sometimes see people who appear to be strolling in a cloud. These folks are wrapped in vapor they inhale from e-cigarettes — a practice called vaping. Vaping devices first emerged in the late 1990s. They…
Walking down the street, I sometimes see people who appear to be strolling in a cloud. These folks are wrapped in vapor they inhale from e-cigarettes — a practice called vaping.
Vaping devices first emerged in the late 1990s. They feature a battery-powered heating element that heats up liquid nicotine to create an aerosol, which is free from the toxic byproducts of cigarette combustion. In theory, this device …
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A pulmonary physician’s take on vaping
Health policy
Why is U.S. health care so costly compared to other developed countries? A recently published report provides some insights. In a study of 11 countries, Harvard researchers found that while the United States has the highest health costs relative to…
Why is U.S. health care so costly compared to other developed countries? A recently published report provides some insights.
In a study of 11 countries, Harvard researchers found that while the United States has the highest health costs relative to its GDP, its use of services is average. More specifically, the U.S. ranks lower than nearly every other country in doctors’ visits, hospitalizations, hospital days, and consultative services.
The difference is …
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America leads the world in high tech care and health care costs
Drugs and prescribing
The costs of many generic drugs have skyrocketed. In some cases, the price of a single pill has increased over 500 percent. But help may be on the way. Recently several large and respected non-profit hospital systems indicated that they…
The costs of many generic drugs have skyrocketed. In some cases, the price of a single pill has increased over 500 percent.
But help may be on the way. Recently several large and respected non-profit hospital systems indicated that they will “fire a shot across the bow” of the generic drug business. That would be a game-changer.
Why has the price of generics skyrocketed?
Some large drug companies have purchased …
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How hospitals can impact generic drug companies
Drugs and prescribing
As the health care debate drags on, prescription drug costs continue to rise by almost 10 percent annually. It is the rare patient who is spared this expense. Over the years, I have seen how these costs have affected my…
As the health care debate drags on, prescription drug costs continue to rise by almost 10 percent annually. It is the rare patient who is spared this expense.
Over the years, I have seen how these costs have affected my patients. At first, most patients had little in the way of co-pays. However, once the local economy deteriorated, co-pays skyrocketed as employers tried to curb their health care expenses. Now, large …
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Here’s why doctors must know prescription costs
Health policy
Every patient eventually asks the same question: “How can I find the best hospitals and doctors?” The solution might seem easy, since we live in a world where information is readily available on the Internet. In a few clicks we…
Every patient eventually asks the same question: “How can I find the best hospitals and doctors?”
The solution might seem easy, since we live in a world where information is readily available on the Internet. In a few clicks we can shop for goods, review consumer products, market ourselves on social media, and complete financial transactions instantly. You would think that health care, which accounts for 17 percent of the GDP, …
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Why quality reports for hospitals and doctors are interesting but flawed
Health policy
The main character in the popular film Groundhog Day is caught in a time loop where he must repeat the same day over and over again. The U.S. Senate is now having its own Groundhog Day moment as it debates…
The main character in the popular film Groundhog Day is caught in a time loop where he must repeat the same day over and over again.
The U.S. Senate is now having its own Groundhog Day moment as it debates (yet again) a law to replace the Affordable Care Act. To add to the drama, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is promoting his single payer alternative popularly branded as “Medicare for All.” In a recent …
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What’s the greatest threat to health reform?
Health policy
As Congress returns from its summer recess, the health care debate is sure to heat up … again. And over the past few months, the debate has had a significant impact on public opinion. A recent report describes how Americans…
As Congress returns from its summer recess, the health care debate is sure to heat up … again. And over the past few months, the debate has had a significant impact on public opinion.
A recent report describes how Americans currently view the ACA. According to national polls, over 90 percent of Americans would change the current law. Most Democrats would expand ACA coverage while most Republicans …
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Is Medicare for all the future? Only the public can decide that.
Physician voices
Charlie Gard was a one-year-old boy who had a rare genetic disease leaving him blind, comatose, and unable to breathe on his own. This metabolic disorder can be fatal and has no known cure. Charlie’s parents wanted him treated with…
Charlie Gard was a one-year-old boy who had a rare genetic disease leaving him blind, comatose, and unable to breathe on his own. This metabolic disorder can be fatal and has no known cure.
Charlie’s parents wanted him treated with experimental drugs in the hope that a miracle would happen. As reported in the press, the British medical and legal community considered this care futile and blocked …
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Planning for the end of life: What baby Charlie can teach us
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