A 2021 Merritt Hawkins article reports increasing physician shortfalls in the U.S. while pointing out that almost 50 percent of all currently practicing physicians are older than 55. In some medical specialties, the “greater-than-55” physician numbers are between 60 to 90+ percent.
Similar findings have been confirmed in an updated January 2023 Becker’s Hospital Review article. These recent reports estimate that there will be a …
According to the Commonwealth Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the health care system in the United States continues to rank the highest in health spending, has the highest rates of avoidable deaths, and rates of infant and maternal deaths compared to other high-income countries. These countries include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Sweden, …
America, we have a beef problem! The inflation rate is high, and the inflation on beef is even more outrageous. At the time of this article, inflation hovers around 8 to 9 percent, while beef is priced at least 15 to 30 percent more than before COVID-19.
We are undoubtedly seeing corporate greed from the meatpacking companies as they have driven up prices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The numbers don’t make …
It is no longer hyperbole to say that we are witnessing our health system moving slowly but surely to a point where it will be very difficult to return.
Despite the weighty First Ministers’ meeting with the Prime Minister on health care, complete with many promises, health workers continue retreating from the system, as they have for the last year, in a sort of slow-motion form of resistance.
Health workers are reducing …
The Office of Management and Budget is requesting members of the public to provide feedback on a proposal from the Biden Administration to add Middle-Eastern North African (MENA) to the 2030 U.S. Census. If the reforms pass, it would be a major victory for Middle-eastern Americans who have long campaigned for their own checkbox.
For nearly 100 years, South West Asian North African (SWANA) Americans like myself, known as Middle-Eastern, have …
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken on non-compete clauses and requested public comments on this issue for upcoming hearings.
In health care, the majority of physicians have become employees, and hospitals and corporate entities are buying out most practices. As we face a critical and accelerating shortage of physicians and other health care workers, non-compete clauses increasingly limit physician movements within health care, profoundly decrease satisfaction, Read more…
As a medical student, I never saw myself as a future CEO or anything close. I was often the only Black person in the room in classes and rotations. After I became an attending, I spent a great deal of time and mental energy fitting in. Speaking up and having opinions were luxuries I couldn’t afford, let alone aspiring to leadership.
What made a difference? Having a mentor.
My mentor, Wes Curry, …
The Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements, as well as the Human Rights Campaign for the LGBTQ+ community, are a few examples of where American democracy and values have triumphed in restoring dignity and civil and constitutional rights to marginalized individuals. Although much work remains to be done, the enlightenment brought about by these movements will undoubtedly continue to strengthen American democracy. However, it is concerning that during the …
In recent weeks, an outpouring of new research has highlighted the severity of the Black mental health crisis. One new poll shows that 77% of Black and Latinx women face mental health barriers related to racism. Another new study found that Black women are undertreated for depression. Yet another shows that even vicarious experiences of racial discrimination increase anxiety. All this is on top of research showing …
Americans are accustomed to tipping for a wide array of services. We understand that our gratuity makes up an important percentage of the wages earned by many different types of laborers: massage therapists, Uber drivers, hair stylists, tour guides, room service providers, valets — the list goes on. Much of the time, we don’t just add a tip because we’re adhering to a cultural norm but rather because we genuinely …
A long inglorious history of medical racism and mistreatment has dire health consequences. Consider the atrocities associated with experimentation on African Americans without informed consent during the Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1932-1972), which eroded the trust in the medical profession and medical research, and undermined the nation’s ability to achieve health equity.
Medical mistrust continues to worsen due to the negative health care experiences African Americans still endure today. For …
The re-release of the movie Titanic marks its 25th anniversary since it first sailed into theaters. Can you believe it? Twenty-five years ago, we watched Rose get undressed for a self-portrait with only a necklace on, Jack yelling, “I’m the king of the world” from the boat’s bow, and the two of them doin’ the dirty in the backseat of an automobile. This fictional love story of Rose and Jack …
A sobering study by the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts an unthinkable shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 doctors by 2034. If underserved populations had fewer barriers to medical care, that shortfall could reach over 180,000! Successfully navigating these uncharted waters will require strategic planning and innovation.
Even the current state is so dire that the American Medical Association (AMA) developed a critical action plan: AMA’s Recovery Plan for …
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The growing role of private health care in Canada is a hot topic at the moment. Provincial governments are outsourcing elective surgeries to the private sector and are considering or debating the option.
Many Canadians are in favor because they recognize that the public health care system is failing. Many are against it because they fear it will increase inequalities in access to care for the most vulnerable populations, particularly …
I may have less direct patient interaction as a radiologist than in other medical specialties. Still, I have a unique vantage point from which to observe the overall picture of the hospital. I see the prevalence of diseases affecting our patients and their demographics. While working at a children’s hospital in the Pacific Northwest, I have repeatedly witnessed the devastating effects of wildfires over the past few summers, interpreting and …
The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated disparities in mental health care access for communities of color. The care gaps in mental health are further accentuated as more health care services, such as mental health, begin to be delivered virtually through telehealth services. As much as 60 percent of mental health care is being delivered by telehealth. Mental health-related telehealth visits reached a massive uptake between …
Nebraska has taken another step towards effectively banning abortion and criminalizing the practice of medicine. I want to try to clarify that this bill is not supported by the medical community. It does not seek to improve the lives of Nebraskans. In truth, this bill is not what it seems, and I hope you will take a minute with me to turn down the emotional noise from both sides and …
“The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.”
– William Osler
I hear a voice in the still of the night when all the sounds of the world have been hushed. It should be a time of peace and rest for me, but instead, concerns and fears rise to the surface. Who …
It used to be easy. You didn’t worry about your health care or how to pay for it. You had a family physician who cared for you in the office and the hospital. They coordinated every aspect of your care, including working with consultants. And after discharge, they would resume caring for you knowing what had occurred firsthand. That was then.
This is now.
Patients rarely see their primary care physician in …
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