Post Author: Virginia Thornley, MD

The demise of medicine: A neurologist advocates for patients and is silenced

Physician
August 31, 2018

Physicians are overwhelmed by patient loads, 10-minute visits, the wealth of documentation dictated by health insurance requirements and the overwhelming overtaking of medicine by non-physician personnel.

Wellness programs abound, which addresses the symptoms of a problem.

As medicine changed from patient to profit-centered, it marked the beginning of the end. We see articles on physicians fired or coerced into resignation for speaking up about non-physicians overstepping boundaries putting patients at risk. Physicians …

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It’s time to start thinking about cannabinoids

Conditions
April 4, 2018

A patient comes to you asking, “Doc, my seizures are getting worse, I really hate the side effects of my medications, I want to go a different route. What do you think about medical marijuana?” You start sweating profusely, fidgeting in your seat, thinking of every single reason why not to recommend it and come up with the standard response, “Uh, well, I’m not qualified to recommend it, and it’s …

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HIPAA: Are you in violation?

Physician
March 7, 2018

HIPAA (Health Information Portability Accountability Act of 1996) is the privacy care act involving electronic transfer of records so that the identity of a patient remains unknown. It includes any electronic, written or oral transfer of information. When I was a kid, there was no such thing. As a grown-up medical professional, you are surrounded constantly by HIPAA. Charts are placed on doors, so the names are hidden, instead of …

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How to get back into the medical workforce if you’re a mom

Physician
February 16, 2018

As women in the medical workforce increase, women physicians are faced with the unique position of training the hardest they ever had in their lifetime cutting into precious childbearing years. Many women physicians seek time off or engage in part-time jobs to address the dilemma of fulfilling the obligations of their careers while enjoying the tender years of their babies. Others pursue non-clinical routes such as medical chart reviews or …

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