Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. 15 minutes a day. 7 days a week.
Rate and review the show so more audiences can find The Podcast by KevinMD.
Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast by KevinMD shares the stories of the many who intersect with our health care system but are rarely heard from. 15 minutes a day. 7 days a week.
Rate and review the show so more audiences can find The Podcast by KevinMD.
“Nowadays, I go on long walks through the city alone. I make dinner for one. When I go on bike rides, it’s a solo activity. I find comfort in myself, slowing down and making every small occasion a simple, peaceful one. I have a stronger sense of self, and through that, I …
“Every professional I have done the exercise with admitted that their ideal patient was inspired by someone they were close to in their personal life. It was usually a family member, a best friend, or themselves. The ones who carry the most unbearable sufferings-the kind that reminds us of ourselves and …
“The science of complexity lays a conceptual foundation for understanding “complex adaptive systems.” What all complex adaptive systems have in common is that they are all bound by the same set of physical laws. Their “behavior,” i.e., growth, maintenance, and death, can all be described using the same set of mathematical relationships. …
“As health professionals, we have the platform to enact change within our own institutions, as well as local and federal governments. We must elect leaders and officials who spearhead climate action. We must reduce the carbon footprint of healthcare. And we must educate our colleagues and our patients about the impact of …
“Instead of focusing on one organ system, I want to know everything. The diagnostic challenge is to discern patterns of insults, symptoms, and lab tests that correlate with specific microbes, specific organ dysfunction, specific diet issues, and environmental exposures. We keep asking questions until we detect patterns in the chronically ill …
“Suicide is a path, whether fast or slow, that a person chooses to take because of their own reasons. We certainly can never predict suicide or truly understand it. But with that said, every time it happens, it is a tragic loss of life that time can and will never heal.
“Our relationship with Big Pharma is a dangerous, nasty, and abusive one, and it can prove to be fatal too. Benzos aren’t limited to a specific class, race, gender, creed, etc. Many stars have died from mixing benzodiazepines with opioids or illegal drugs.
It has been a little over a year that I have been …
“Had I understood the nature of my struggles and felt permitted and supported in actively addressing them, I would have been more effective, a better learner, and more fulfilled. After trying out a few clinical settings, a lot of reading, and some much-needed coaching, I found my identity as a healthy, …
“Dr. Fauci navigated the delicate balance between his obligation to the American people as one of our most respected physician-scientists and holding on to his job in a federal government whose leader doesn’t take kindly to independent thought that potentially upstages his own. Dr. Fauci not only survived multiple appearances on …
“I am a nurse who has worked at a rural hospital. My husband is a board-certified family medicine doctor. In the fall of 2020, I was raped by my massage therapist. I know that everyone has an opinion of what they would do in that situation, and I was probably one of those …
“When the public was made aware of the risk of transmitting the virus and the far-reaching measures of social distancing, closing schools, and lock-down, most Americans willingly complied. After all, they became aware, for the first time, of the risk of aerosolized viral particles present in theatres, churches, restaurants, and classrooms. But …
“Now the room is silent as if nothing at all occurred. I stand watching the red stain forming on the pristine white sheet, mocking me in my failure. I trained at excellent institutions, survived residency, and served in combat. Now, here at a Level 1 trauma center, I could not save this …
“I really shouldn’t complain. I haven’t lost my housing or job. I have plenty of food and toilet paper, and so far, no close friend or family have died from COVID. That said, this pandemic is hard. In fact, it is exhausting.
During the spring and summer, I gave positive COVID results …
“It is dangerously unfortunate that the use of masks has been politicized in many parts of our nation. The Dakotas (or North and South COVID as they were recently called on Saturday Night Live) are far from exempt from this phenomenon. Likely, if Governor Burgum’s decision was less influenced by fear …
“If PCPs want to meet the new competition from virtual primary care plans, I suggest that they gradually increase the percentage of their visits that they do through telehealth. Now that payers are reimbursing those visits at the same level as in-person visits, they have nothing to lose financially. Of course, there …
“Looking back on these words at the end of my rotation, I understand what I had felt, and I feel confident naming it: the futility of medicine. We can comfort and treat patients, but there’s nothing more we can do after a certain point. As a bright-eyed medical student who wrote …
“Motherhood has been the biggest gamble of my adult life thus far. How was I going to operate for 12-plus hours while 39-weeks pregnant? Where would I be when I went into labor? How would was I going to return after three weeks? How would I pump during and in between OR …
“COVID-19 disproportionately impacts those with pre-existing conditions, and our health care system leaves one in five Americans with a pre-existing condition uninsured. Further, with multiple COVID-19 vaccines already in early but slow distribution, attaining universal coverage is critical, particularly in light of uninsurance having an inverse relationship with vaccination rates.
“The patient knocking on your door is not your enemy. They’re sick. They’re scared. They’re in pain. They don’t know why, and they’re hoping for an answer. If you can’t find the source of a problem quickly, it doesn’t mean it’s not there.”
“I can tell you what I don’t want to do. I don’t want to mill through 50 patients a day, mindlessly clicking through EMR checkboxes so an insurance auditor five states away will deem that I’ve done my job and deserve reimbursement. That’s a high volume, high overhead game, and I …