Neil Baum, MD

Neil Baum is a urologist.

Improve the patient experience with anticipatory patient service

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

March 15, 2017

How do you describe the feeling when you are at a restaurant, and the waiter sees your coffee cup at less than half full (never half empty) and without asking they refill the cup or better yet, bring you a fresh cup of coffee? If you are like most customers, you have a nice feeling about the restaurant and the waiter as they have anticipated your needs. Usually, this anticipatory …

If doctors wanted to be wealthy, they would have become UPS truck drivers

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

September 19, 2016

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Do doctors make too much money?

I don’t think so. I read with great interest the blog by Dr. Michael Kirsch defending physicians’ salaries: “If you think doctors make too much money, think about this.” Unfortunately, the public’s perception of physicians’ incomes has been that physicians make too much money.

Whenever I hear this remark from patients or even non-physicians, I show …

Physician tips to tame your email inbox

Neil Baum, MD

Tech

July 31, 2016

I am an email junkie and spend more time than I would like to admit on emails every day. I start my day by looking at emails, and I end every evening reviewing emails. And yes, I spend time during the day checking the computer for pertinent emails that need my attention. I think many physicians are of the same ilk.

According to Alexandra Samuels, who is the author of Work …

Read more…

Physician tips to tame your email inbox

Two powerful words that more doctors should use

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

March 11, 2016

Sticks and stones may break my bones but two words — thank you — will not hurt you but will certainly help you.

We, myself included, are often so busy and always in a hurry rushing from one task to another that we often forget common courtesies. I believe that we can accomplish so much more with our patients, our staff, and even in our personal lives by not forgetting to …

A surefire way to see pharmaceutical reps in a timely fashion

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

January 4, 2016

Today so many physicians are not able to see pharmaceutical representatives (PRs). However, PRs do serve as a great resource and finding a way to make their visits more efficient and focused is an objective we all need to strive for.

I recall requesting an interview with Lou Holtz, then the head coach at Notre Dame, and was told by his secretary the date and time that the interview would take …

What physicians can learn from tying their shoes

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

March 6, 2015

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Have you ever tied your shoes and found that the bow unraveled and you almost tripped over your own laces? Learning to tie your shoes is a life skills task that you learned as a toddler unless you were trained on Velcro straps! You performed the task of tying your shoes nearly every day of your life believing that you were …

Health information on the Internet: 5 questions to ask

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

October 10, 2014

Many of our patients are besieged with unsolicited Internet advertisements offering them unbelievable solutions and cures to most of mankind’s medical maladies. Patients come to and ask for advice about these promises to magically restore their health.

Since I receive so many requests from patients to evaluate these offerings, I have put together five questions that patients should ask themselves before proceeding to buy from websites offering outlandish claims, including restoring …

The cheapest prescription that’s most beneficial to patients

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

September 3, 2014

I see nearly 100 patients a week. Of these, easily 35% are overweight and 15-20% are obese with a BMI greater than 30. I live in New Orleans, Louisiana, which along with Mississippi has the highest rate of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, arthritis, and other diseases commonly associated with obesity. There are many explanations for the obesity academic in America but certainly poor nutrition and lack of exercise are at the …

Estimating a patient’s age-clinical implications

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

June 22, 2014

As a medical student I was in awe when a professor looked at a patient’s hands or nail beds and described their medical condition without taking a history. I was also enthralled by a TED talk by the best selling author, Abraham Verghese, where he described a lesson that Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes, learned as a medical student at the medical school in Edinburgh, Scotland from the famous physician …

Doctors: 10 lessons from the humble bumblebee

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

December 7, 2013

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Practice medicine like the bumblebee.

We also know the basics of the beehive containing a single queen bee, hundreds of worker bees, and several hundred to several thousand drones with their only function is to mate with the queen (and after they perform this function they die!), each with their own degree of specialization and place in the honeybee society. However, there is …

Patient satisfaction: What restaurants can teach doctors

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

August 18, 2013

Americans are notoriously generous and good tippers. However, there are some servers who get “over the top” gratuities. How do they do it?

1. They make a concerted effort to reach out and touch someone. How many physicians enter a room and never touch a patient? They are touching more keyboards than hearts. I have learned from complementary healthcare providers that there’s a medicinal value of touching the patient. Every chiropractor, …

Doctors need to place their families first

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

August 8, 2013

Several years ago I wrote an article for physicians on the topic of balance, and one of the suggestions was to place family first. There are two stories that I have learned since the publication of that article that I would like to pass along.

Balance in a doctor’s life is best achieved if there is balance between family and work. One of the best suggestions is to place family …

Physicians: Learn to pick up the proverbial poop

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

July 6, 2013

As a little boy I had a dream that I have always wanted to join the circus. I thought for sure I could be a clown or even the ringmaster. At age 34 a friend who did public relations for Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus gave me the opportunity to make my dream come true and I was invited to be a clown in the circus.

The show was to …

How one urologist approaches PSA testing

Neil Baum, MD

Conditions

May 12, 2013

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed non–skin cancer among U.S. men. It can be life-threatening, and many men have cancer without knowing it. For those reasons, doctors sometimes look for prostate cancer in healthy men (screen for cancer) by measuring blood levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a protein secreted by the prostate gland. High PSA levels can be caused by cancer and may lead a doctor to take a …

Part of medical education is to learn limitations

Neil Baum, MD

Education

February 16, 2013

There is a strong relationship comparing sports to the military, business, and also to medicine. Young athletes, in their late teens and early 20s, are mostly brawn and use their strength and speed to achieve success early in their professional careers. As the athlete matures in their late 20s and early 30s, the physiologic processes slowly decrease and efficiency and maturity and other cerebral skills emerge.

There are 2 rainbow arcs …

Build your network by writing a timely note

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

January 9, 2013

In my medical practice, I’ve used note writing extensively, to communicate with patients, with families of patients and with referring physicians. And yet, when I received a note, which is not related to patient care, it is always a little surprising and uplifting, and emphasizes why note writing (and note receiving) is so appealing.

In this Internet age and the age of information, we are bombarded with electronically conveyed messages, television …

Why doctors should have clean and organized desks

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

December 9, 2012

What is your impression of an airlines when you sit down and open the tray on the back of the seat in front of you and find food and coffee stains on the tray? You may just worry if the same attention that was given to tray tables carries over to the maintenance of the engines. Or what is your opinion …

Improve patient service: Keep your phones open during lunch hour

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

November 15, 2012

I have watched more offices over the past few years close their phones and front desk during the lunch hour. If you close your office for an hour at lunchtime, what message are you sending your patients? You are declaring that serving your patients takes a back seat to serving yourself and your employees. Closing your phone lines at lunchtime means that you are creating missed opportunities for a vital …

When you do the right thing, you become a better doctor

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

October 28, 2012

There are times when it is necessary to step up to the plate and go the extra mile on behalf of your patients. There is no job description for doing this and there is no manual that gives you instructions on what action you need to take on behalf of your patients. However, when you have the opportunity to do the right thing, at the right time and for the …

Use the Janus principle in your medical practice

Neil Baum, MD

Physician

September 15, 2012

Janus is the Roman god of doors and gateways but also the god of beginnings. Interestingly, good beginnings and required for good endings. The Temple of Janus had doors facing east and west, which allowed illumination of the temple at the beginning and the end of the day. Most statues of Janus show him with two faces facing opposite directions.

The Janus principle in your medical practice is the idea of …