Paul Pender, MD

Paul Pender is an ophthalmologist and author of Standing Up & Speaking Out for Patients & Doctors and Rebuilding Trust in Healthcare: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Post-Pandemic America.

Why meaningful patient connections matter in medicine

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

July 31, 2024

Connecting with another human being in a meaningful way allows a physician to practice the art and the science of medicine. Showing you care helps to gain trust, and helping to alleviate pain and suffering establishes a bond. When you give of yourself on behalf of your patient, as a caregiver you share something not many people get to experience—compassion-driven skill. Choosing a career in health care is most often …

Global aspirations for value-based health care

Paul Pender, MD

Policy

January 13, 2024

The authors of the New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst article urge countries to allocate 1 percent of their health care budgets toward establishing standards and processes for assessing the value of health outcomes. What matters most to patients is the fundamental principle of value-based health care. The cost of unnecessary care amounts to billions every year, not only in the United States but worldwide. This article presents the …

Employer health plans need a makeover

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

December 16, 2023

Are you satisfied with your health benefits plan? That’s one of the many questions asked of over 2,000 employers, running large and small businesses, by the annual survey from KFF. Approximately 153 million workers and their families receive health benefits from employers in the U.S. Therefore, the survey results offer a window on the current satisfaction (or lack thereof) of health plans, whether by self-insured entities or as part …

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Employer health plans need a makeover

Youth vs. experience: Who wins in medicine?

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

July 28, 2023

Harvard researchers who recently wrote an essay analyzed data from Medicare to draw conclusions about hospitalists and surgeons who treat hospital in-patients for non-elective admissions. The researchers grouped the physicians by age to determine which groups performed better. The yardstick by which they were measured was mortality within 30 days of admission. The sample size was significant—over 700,000 Medicare patients, all over 65 years of age. What they found were …

Navigating the levels of knowledge, skill, and passion to create a high-value patient-doctor relationship

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

May 16, 2023

An excerpt from Standing Up & Speaking Out for Patients & Doctors: First Steps Toward Focused Healthcare Solutions.

The casual observer, the season ticket holder, the player, and the coach have very different levels of knowledge, skill, and passion for a professional sport. The casual observer may be confused, not even understanding the fundamentals of the game. The season ticket holder …

Caught in the middle: How health insurance companies influence cancer drug selection

Paul Pender, MD

Meds

January 12, 2023

Patients may find themselves caught in the middle between their health insurance company and their oncologist when it comes to selecting the drugs used to treat their cancer. Why is this?

The American Cancer Society explains biologic drugs (derived from living organisms such as yeast, bacteria, or animal cells) and biosimilar drugs, which behave similarly to the original, patented (i.e., brand) drug. It is important to note that biosimilar drugs are …

Why perfectionists in medicine need to practice compassion

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

January 3, 2023

I recently read the article, “Perfectionism will kill you.”

Our perfectionism is often worn like a badge of honor. It signifies our complete commitment, at times at the expense of others. Wanting to do your best job is what drives “good” perfectionism. Woody Allen quipped, “80 percent of life is just showing up.” And the other 20 percent is reserved for perfectionists.

Success often comes from attention to detail, something perfectionists …

Why is collaboration missing in health care?

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

November 20, 2022

An essay posted by Fareeha Kahn, MD (“A hospitalist’s struggle to find teamwork in academic medicine“), raises an important issue. The problem of lack of collaboration is not unique to academic medicine. The problem is the result of misaligned incentives.

Having read the work of Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter, I better understand the goals and challenges of value-based care. If we look at the premise …

Open-angle glaucoma: To screen or not to screen?

Paul Pender, MD

Conditions

June 23, 2022

In a published statement in JAMA Network on May 24/31, 2022, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found that there was insufficient evidence for screening for primary open-angle glaucoma in adults. They could not find a way to balance harms versus benefits for screening in general. But is this reasoning faulty?

It is well known that Black and Hispanic populations suffer a greater incidence and severity of glaucoma, …

The dichotomy of patient needs and patient wants

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

April 30, 2022

As a practicing ophthalmologist, I saw many patients who had developed blurred vision, glare, or trouble reading. These patients needed to understand that cataracts were the cause of their vision problems and how the cataracts developed and how they should be treated. I would begin the explanation by using a large, plastic eye model to show the lens’s position and how a clouded lens would affect vision. I would then …

Playing the hand you are dealt

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

January 24, 2022

Anyone can win at poker when dealt a royal flush. But what can you do when the cards you are dealt don’t appear winning at all? My answer: Make the best of what you have.

Recently I learned of a colleague who sustained a broken back in an accident. He continues to work, wearing a brace and not taking pain medication. I know from watching his videos that he routinely handles …

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Playing the hand you are dealt

“Take it or leave it” is not negotiation but coercion

Paul Pender, MD

Policy

November 23, 2021

“Take it or leave it” is not negotiation but coercion.

Physicians have been subject to this tactic for much too long. As an ophthalmologist in clinical practice for nearly four decades, I experienced too often what a recent author on KevinMD described as a one-sided arrangement with a health insurance company. “Here is the fee schedule. Here is the document to sign.” End of story.

If you object to the terms of …

Getting messy in the game of health care

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

August 22, 2021

“We can’t sit in the stands – we have to get messy and play on the field.”

The other side of the knife

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

June 4, 2021

The surgeon becomes the surgical patient. That was my summary thought after discussing my vision problem with my former partner, an ophthalmologist well versed in treating cataracts. Despite having performed eye surgery on thousands of patients in the course of my own professional career, the “privilege” of being on the other side of the knife was not without some anxiety.

Two factors helped limit my concern. First, I trusted my surgeon …

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The other side of the knife

It’s never too late for physicians to change directions and land new jobs

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

February 19, 2021

Changing direction once established is not easy, but it can be rewarding. I recently read the essay on KevinMD (“How this physician escaped the system“) from a physician who shifted gears to her own business after some discouraging experiences in “the system.” During her residency, her attending physician asked her what her purpose was in becoming a physician. To her credit, she said that her goals …

A physician shares stories online and is now a published author

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

December 4, 2020

A powerful communications medium, with the chance to get into someone else’s mind and connect through experience. Sometimes the experience is vicarious, because not everyone has lived what the storyteller has. But the storyteller’s words can have a profound effect, and the listener can appreciate what is told within a recognizable context. Shakespeare’s works are an immense collection of stories, of triumph and tragedy, of love and sacrifice, of comedy …

The profound influence of a physician’s mother

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

January 10, 2020

It is a busy time of year. I made my rounds to collect my skis after tuning, to pick up items for our Christmas guests, to get my haircut, and to claim my new eyeglasses. I drove to my golf course and took a half-hour walk on snow-covered paths with my dog. Dropped him at the groomers, then made stops for last-minute food shopping. While my wife took on the masses at a megastore, …

Parallel thinking won’t solve problems in health care

Paul Pender, MD

Policy

November 1, 2019

A lot of media attention, including television, print, and online sources, is focused on various plans to revolutionize the delivery of health care in America. Critics point to medical errors, waste of resources, and lack of access among the numerous factors requiring the replacement of our health care system. To many politicians and think tank experts, the combination of government support programs (including Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security disability) plus …

A physician writes for catharsis

Paul Pender, MD

Physician

July 21, 2019

After finishing the pitch for my book at a recent Harvard Writers’ Conference in Boston, I felt relieved and encouraged by the judges’ comments. As I waited for my turn at the podium, I glanced above my notes over the faces of 300 of my fellow attendees who had accomplished so much in their respective fields of medicine, nursing, and counseling.

The pitches made by these would-be authors revealed an amazing …

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A physician writes for catharsis

The effect of mobile devices on our collective psyche

Paul Pender, MD

Tech

May 3, 2019

During a recent walk at Crystal Cove, a splendid California State Park with miles of pristine coastline, I encountered two young women sitting on a bench with a magnificent view of the ocean. Yet their only view of interest was their cell phone screens. One of them lifted her head long enough to say, “Your dog is cute,” then returned to the rapture of her device. I thanked her and …

Paul Pender, MD

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