Rafid Rahman is a physician and can be reached on Twitter @RafidRahmanMD.
Health care is now at a crossroads.
We’ve been hearing that phrase more often recently, but what does that mean? Being at a crossroads signifies that now is the time to make a decision that will affect the future in substantial and irrevocable ways.
Why is health care at a crossroads now? Americans are getting sicker as every year passes: “A 2007 study reported that seven chronic diseases have a total impact on …
A patient comes into the ER complaining about throbbing migraines after falling off her bicycle; thus, the physician quickly orders an X-ray, complete blood count, and asks the nurse to schedule the patient for an MRI of the head and neck in case both those tests come back inconclusive. As an ER scribe, I saw many conditions where the physician would quickly do a physical exam, and then use a …
Dear future doctor,
Please remember. Remember what it feels like to be a patient.
Remember the pain, remember the anguish of the unknown, remember the detours of being referred from one physician to the next, and how you hoped that this doctor would finally be able to diagnose you and empathize with your suffering. Remember the agony of not knowing what caused the mysterious, writhing pain; however, at the same time being …
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