Public Health & Policy

Ensuring universal access and quality care: the advantages of a mixed health care system in Canada

Policy

February 20, 2023

Canadian physicians, like many other Canadians, generally support the country’s publicly funded health care system, which is designed to provide universal access to medical care.

However, despite its strengths, there are some areas where the public system falls short, and there is growing evidence that a combination of public and private health care could help address some of these shortcomings.

One of the main benefits of a mixed system, as seen in …

Against all odds: How two cities tackled the COVID-19 crisis

Michael Fine, MD

Policy

February 17, 2023

An excerpt from On Medicine as Colonialism.

In Central Falls, Rhode Island, where I work, the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard. People who live in Central Falls, the smallest and poorest city in Rhode Island, live in densely packed houses, often eight or ten people to a two-bedroom apartment, sharing one bathroom …

Why doctors must speak out on political issues impacting patients

Meghan Sheehan, MD

Physician

February 15, 2023

As a physician, I was taught to remain neutral in the public eye regarding political issues. My viewpoints and opinions do not enter my work because the work is not about me but about the person sitting across from me who seeks help. As a psychiatrist and ethicist, I treat all people with respect, compassion, and dignity. I believe in my duty to treat patients, regardless of who they are, …

Lessons from a civil rights icon: How to lift as we climb

Claire Unis, MD

Physician

February 15, 2023

Mary Eliza Church Terrell famously wrote, “And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ‘ere long.”

Lift as we climb.

Terrell lived her life by this motto, as an organizer in the women’s suffrage and civil rights movements, and as a founder of the National Association of Colored Women and the …

A dentist’s journey to improving oral health for special needs patients

Alexander Dorrough, DDS

Conditions

February 14, 2023

When I was a dental student, a 5-year-old child with special needs started coming to the clinic for dental care. I remember him as inquisitive but lacking the ability to focus or respond correctly to some verbal prompts. He would sit quietly in his mom’s lap on the dental chair, but when we approached him holding any instruments—including a toothbrush—he would fight so much that once he even vomited. Three …

Holding my Black son tight: a mother’s reflection

Margaret Towolawi, MD

Physician

February 13, 2023

In the wake of Tyre Nichols’s murder, I find myself wanting to hold onto my Black son a little tighter.

He is 7.

Young enough to still be deemed cute by some, but old enough to not be given as much grace for simply “being a kid” by others.

Sometimes I spoil him a bit more than I’d like to.

It’s only really because even though I know technically he’s a kid until age …

Patients lose when states block independent doctors

Jaimie Cavanaugh, JD and Daryl James

Policy

February 11, 2023

Patients win when independent doctors open shop. More choice means improved service and lower costs for everyone. Yet states often intervene to shut down health care competition.

Virginia regulators blocked Maryland-based radiologist Mark Monteferrante when he tried to expand his independent practice across state lines. Alabama regulators stopped family physician Nancy White when she tried to offer residential drug treatment at a 16-bed facility. And Iowa regulators stalled ophthalmologist Lee Birchansky …

The silencing of gun violence research: a decades-long campaign

Shreya Kumar

Policy

February 6, 2023

Violence, in particular, firearm violence, has been a specter of American culture for decades, and its impact on public health has been shrouded in the shadows for nearly as long, thanks to political lobbying by gun manufacturers. An NPR article entitled “How The NRA Worked To Stifle Gun Violence Research,” published in April 2018, provides some history on the topic. A short summary? The Dickey Amendment, passed in 1996, …

How direct primary care can revolutionize health care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

February 3, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

The U.S. health care system ranks poorly among high-income countries, but the direct primary care (DPC) model offers a potential solution. In this model, primary care providers are paid a consistent fee through a retainer or membership …

Canada has a universal health care system. But does it really?

Jean Paul Brutus, MD

Policy

January 27, 2023

Maybe one day, our universal health care system represented the values of Canadians, but certainly not anymore. American friends, you may know us for our drinking age and “free health care.” Still, unfortunately, our health care system no longer embodies the principles of equality, respect, politeness, safety, and peace that we hold dear.

You may also be familiar with our Prime Minister’s fondness for dressing up and doing shirtless yoga poses. …

3 shocking health care statistics for 2023

Robert Pearl, MD

Policy

January 27, 2023

As the New Year begins, a trio of health care statistics cast an intense and unflattering light on a nation in crisis.

These figures, all of them unimaginable just a generation ago, set the stage for a financial reckoning in 2023 and beyond.

Shocking stat #1: the number of Americans on Medicaid

Without looking it up: What percentage of Americans receive some or all health-insurance coverage from the government?

You might assume a low …

Primary care colonialism: the impact of profit-driven health care on communities

Michael Fine, MD

Policy

January 25, 2023

An excerpt from On Medicine as Colonialism.

For about seventeen years, from 1991 until 2008, I lived in little Scituate, Rhode Island, where I practiced family medicine, and for about eleven of those seventeen years, I practiced out of the basement of my house. It was an older style of primary …

The future of health care is virtual: a nurse’s perspective

Pamela Miles, RN

Policy

January 25, 2023

This time, it’s my family.

My work takes me all over the U.S., consulting on the implementation of virtual care to get the most appropriate level of care to the patients who need it. I work with teams to develop better workflows and to get more experienced eyes on patients. It’s the kind of care anyone would want for their own family.

I was flying to Utah to assist a hospital system …

It’s time to ditch cultural competence

Raj Sundar, MD

Physician

January 24, 2023

A pregnant Somali woman was determined to have a vaginal delivery. Unfortunately, labor wasn’t progressing as expected, and the health care team recommended a C-section. The patient declined the recommendation and said it’s in God’s hands. After some persistence, the health care team convinced the patient to get a C-section. After the C-section, the patient felt disappointed that her wishes weren’t considered. The OB team, however, didn’t understand why the …

Read more…

It’s time to ditch cultural competence

Gun crisis in America: Youth fatalities on the rise

Edward Hoffer, MD

Policy

January 23, 2023

In 2020, firearm fatalities displaced motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of death of U.S. youth (ages 1 to 19). We long ago dramatically reduced infectious deaths (though vaccine hesitancy threatens to upend this victory), and the “big five” have been auto accidents, firearms, cancer, suffocation, and drug overdose – accidental in the youngest and intentional or accidental in teens.

Between 2000 and 2015, firearm deaths remained steady at about …

Faced with yet another variant, epidemiologists must act more like silicon valley start-ups

Henry Olaisen, PhD, MPH

Policy

January 22, 2023

With yet another highly contagious COVID variant sweeping the East Coast, it’s never been more clear that we need a systems approach to reforming epidemiology in the U.S. Several legislative approaches, including the PREVENT Pandemics Act and public health loan forgiveness, offer a promising start, but as a scientist who was on the ground during COVID, it is clear to me that much more is needed. Specifically, the CDC, …

New York nurses strike for dignity and respect on the frontlines

Molly M. Murray, PA-C

Policy

January 21, 2023

As a PA, I’ve worked in some of the city’s busiest emergency departments. While they differ in practice styles, patient population, and architecture, they all have one thing in common: the nurses are overworked. As thousands of them go on strike and thousands more threaten to do the same, it should come as no surprise to anyone who has witnessed their plight.

I have seen NYC RNs be spit on and …

Saving mothers: How technology can aid in the fight against preventable maternal deaths

Jaime Bland, DNP, RN

Policy

January 21, 2023

Maternal morbidity and mortality rates in the United States are among the highest in the developed world—impacting roughly 50,000 women each year and taking the lives of 700 mothers annually. Three in five of these deaths are preventable, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. HHS) announced $350 million in awards to …

Student loan forgiveness: a key step in achieving health equity for minority physicians and patients

Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH

Policy

January 19, 2023

As student loan forgiveness awaits a decision from the Supreme Court, the Department of Education has launched a program that can forgive student loan debt for over 40,000 Americans and ease student debt burdens for up to 3.6 million borrowers. As this news circulates, what is less discussed is how student loan debt affects doctors and everyday citizens’ health – especially those who are underrepresented minorities.

Excessive student loans are …

Creating a trauma-informed society: the role of government policy in reducing adverse childhood experiences [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

January 18, 2023

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes!

In this episode, we speak with Ariane Marie-Mitchell, a preventive medicine physician who discusses the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on health and development. She discusses the challenges of using a clinical tool to diagnose patients …

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