Health policy and public health

4,357 articles · Since 2004

Articles, page 51

COVID-19 will kill 500,000 Americans. Here’s why.

October 14, 2020Oct 14, 20204

Among the questions I’m asked most often as host of the podcast Coronavirus: The Truth are: “How have other nations effectively contained the pandemic?” and “Why can’t the United States copy their success?” For months, health experts have answered these…

For months, health experts have answered these questions by pointing to a combination of science and strategy. Other nations, they say, test more frequently, impose tighter social restrictions and boast …

The Podcast by KevinMD

How physicians can be activists [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

October 12, 2020Oct 12, 2020

"We dealt with the death, uncertainty, and fear of COVID-19 with a stiff upper lip. But our hearts broke when George Floyd was murdered by the police on May 25. George is a symbol of an immense problem. A study…

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“We dealt with the death, uncertainty, and fear of COVID-19 with a stiff upper lip. But our hearts broke when George Floyd was murdered by the police on May 25. George is a symbol of an immense problem. A study reported that one in every thousand Black men can expect to be killed by the police. One in every thousand! Racially …

The Podcast by KevinMD

COVID-19 misinformation is a public health crisis [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

October 11, 2020Oct 11, 2020

"Government officials, regardless of political affiliation, should seek sound medical advice before communicating with their constituents. Appropriate public health information should be shared so that constituents are not harmed by following misinformed medical information. Government officials, news media, and social…

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“Government officials, regardless of political affiliation, should seek sound medical advice before communicating with their constituents. Appropriate public health information should be shared so that constituents are not harmed by following misinformed medical information. Government officials, news media, and social media platforms should account for the health information they spread. We must combat misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic so that we …

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Health policy

Health care from the trenches: Change must come from us

Alejandro Badia, MD

October 10, 2020Oct 10, 2020

A patient came to see me with terrible shoulder pain, which I suspected was caused by an acute rotator cuff tear. As any good orthopedic surgeon would, I ordered an MRI. My radiology tech, however, was not permitted by Medicare…

Now, my patient needed to secure an appointment for an MRI across town. Then, after the MRI, she needed to schedule another appointment with me so I …

Health policy

Why socialized health care is not right for America

Mary Tipton, MD

October 9, 2020Oct 9, 20205

I have been a doctor for twenty years, but I’m also a patient. We are all patients. This summer, my previously mild heart rhythm problem got a lot worse. By July, I was having frequent episodes of heart rates four times normal, causing me to almost lose consciousness. It was dangerous and scary. I consulted with a highly specialized doctor to fix this for good. He threaded four wires

…

Health policy

America needs to invest in proactive patient outreach now

Alan Glaseroff, MD & Jason Bae, MD, MBA

October 3, 2020Oct 3, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced multiple new threats for physical and mental health. The novel coronavirus itself continues to infect more than 30,000 Americans as we enter the influenza season. The pandemic, economic devastation, and racial reckoning have led to…

Health policy

How the health care system fails to match its hype

Robert Pearl, MD

October 2, 2020Oct 2, 2020

No player received as much media-generated attention heading into Super Bowl LIV as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. All eyes were on him and, when it mattered most, the young signal-caller came through, bringing his team back from a…

Mahomes, 24, could teach American health care a valuable lesson about living up to the hype against high-level competition. For decades, self-described “breakthrough” medications, …

Health policy

What we define as “right” in primary care matters

Michelle-Linh Nguyen, MD

October 1, 2020Oct 1, 2020

“Your numbers are horrible!” I was a resident physician in internal medicine seeing patients in primary care clinic. These words, from an attending physician, were meant as off-the-cuff feedback, and their impact surprised me. I suddenly felt exhausted, sitting on…

“Your numbers are horrible!”

I was a resident physician in internal medicine seeing patients in primary care clinic. These words, from an attending physician, were meant as off-the-cuff feedback, and their impact surprised me. I suddenly felt exhausted, sitting on a rolling chair surrounded by an audience of computers, unsure how to respond to this statement that simultaneously made me feel enraged and like a failure. How could one metric change …

Physician voices

Why science matters this election year

Sarah C. Smith, DO

October 1, 2020Oct 1, 20202

I grew up loving politics. At age 11, I watched my mom run for and win a city commissioner position in our small town in Ohio. In 7th grade, I wrote Ronald Reagan a detailed letter with my solution for lowering the national debt. In high school, I was active on student council, and by senior year, I was president. I also took part in the presidential classroom program, and …

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Why science matters this election year

Health policy

The detrimental effect on patients of an insurance company slashing its fee schedule

Clifford L. Deal, MD

September 30, 2020Sep 30, 2020

In these tumultuous times, it's hard to find common ground. But I believe we can all agree on one thing: Health care heroes deserve our support. Physicians have spent the last several months working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some…

In these tumultuous times, it’s hard to find common ground. But I believe we can all agree on one thing: Health care heroes deserve our support.

Physicians have spent the last several months working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some work with minimal personal protective equipment (PPE), while distancing from their own families to reduce mounting burdens on our hospital systems. These men and women are constantly putting their own health …

Health policy

Talking politics in the exam room

Hayward Zwerling, MD

September 30, 2020Sep 30, 20205

I walked into my exam room to see a patient I first met two decades ago. His medical problems included poorly controlled diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and a substance abuse disorder. Over the years, our health care system has served him well as he has remained free of diabetic complications and now leads a productive life. Watching this transformation has been both professionally rewarding, personally enjoyable, and I look forward to …

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Talking politics in the exam room

Health policy

Clinicians shouldn’t be punished for taking care of needy populations

Peter Ubel, MD

September 28, 2020Sep 28, 2020

It has always been financially rewarding for doctors to take care of rich patients. People with more money … well, they have more money to spend on health care. But shouldn't this more money/higher payment relationship go away in Medicare?…

It has always been financially rewarding for doctors to take care of rich patients. People with more money … well, they have more money to spend on health care. But shouldn’t this more money/higher payment relationship go away in Medicare?

It doesn’t, and some recent payment reforms may be making matters worse.

Medicare is a federal program to reimburse medical costs in people who are disabled, have kidney failure, or are …

Conditions and diseases

Racial disparities and maternal mental health during COVID

Brennin Brown, MD & Susan Hatters Friedman, MD

September 27, 2020Sep 27, 2020

As the coronavirus pandemic has unfolded, the uncertainty of this crisis has stoked heightened awareness and precaution in each aspect of our lives. We have incorporated personal protective equipment into our human interactions, and we are compulsively practicing sanitation rituals. Our social connections have been tethered at a distance for months on end. As a society, we are experiencing collective grief. Grieving hundreds of thousands of lives lost and the …

Health policy

Will the Supreme Court destroy the Affordable Care Act?

Robert Laszewski

September 25, 2020Sep 25, 2020

Now that it appears certain that the Republicans will approve a new Supreme Court justice in the coming weeks, there is great concern among Obamacare supporters that this could well mean the end of Obamacare. That concern is being amplified…

That concern is being amplified in the hyper-partisan environment in the ramp-up to the election––it makes for good scare tactics.

The Obamacare case currently before the court deals with the 2017 repeal of the law’s individual mandate …

Health policy

Will the CDC ever rise again?

Christine Meyer, MD

September 25, 2020Sep 25, 202020

I hate to say this, but I fear it is over. For our entire relationship, I have looked to the CDC to guide and educate me. I have put my faith in their recommendations. I have defended their stances on everything from obesity to Lyme disease to influenza across decades. I have done so because they never let me down.

Until now.

I am not sure that the powers that be at …

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Will the CDC ever rise again?

Health policy

An internal dialogue on closing the gaps

Annabelle Santos Volgman, MD & Kamala Tamirisa, MD

September 25, 2020Sep 25, 2020

Black people are dying at disproportionate rates from the pandemic. For decades, racial disparities in health care have resulted in poor outcomes even before COVID-19. Individual risk factors for poor health are more pronounced in Black people and racial minorities.…

Black people are dying at disproportionate rates from the pandemic. For decades, racial disparities in health care have resulted in poor outcomes even before COVID-19.

Individual risk factors for poor health are more pronounced in Black people and racial minorities. However, these individual risk factors may not account for all outcomes. There are also additional factors at the community …

The Podcast by KevinMD

Essential health messaging tips for physicians [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

September 24, 2020Sep 24, 2020

"Advocacy by moms is not new, but advocacy by physicians has been less common. Moms have been fierce advocates on a variety of causes ranging from Mothers Against Drunk Driving to Moms Demand Action, the anti-gun violence mom activist group…

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“Advocacy by moms is not new, but advocacy by physicians has been less common. Moms have been fierce advocates on a variety of causes ranging from Mothers Against Drunk Driving to Moms Demand Action, the anti-gun violence mom activist group led by Shannon Watts that has now helped launch moms into public office. As physician moms navigating a global pandemic, we are invested in …

The Podcast by KevinMD

A new approach to Medicare for all [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

September 23, 2020Sep 23, 2020

Why should we reform the health care system to a physician-led approach? How will that look like? Would a Medicare for all system cure what ails the system? What are some obstacles to implementation? Ken Terry is a journalist. He…

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Why should we reform the health care system to a physician-led approach? How will that look like? Would a Medicare for all system cure what ails the system? What are some obstacles to implementation?

Ken Terry is a journalist.

He shares his story and discusses his book, Physician-Led Health Care Reform: A New Approach to …

Health policy

Dear medical community, it’s time to engage in the climate movement

Derek Wolfe

September 21, 2020Sep 21, 20206

I recently finished my geriatric psychiatry rotation. As a medical student and aspiring psychiatrist, I had the opportunity to participate in the care of those suffering from acute psychosis, depression, bipolar disorder, depression, and more — many of whom were dealing with suicidal ideation. While an engaging experience, I am worried. The climate crisis puts these patients at great risk.

I’m a novice to climate advocacy. I’ve long considered myself to be someone …

Health policy

Physicians must exercise their right to vote

Ankita Sagar, MD, MPH

September 21, 2020Sep 21, 2020

Vote. These four letters reflect one of the most powerful actions in human history – the act of choosing who represents you and your beliefs. As an immigrant child and naturalized citizen, I was not born with the right to vote in the United States of America. Yet, I remember the day I first voted. As I walked into the polling site, I remembered how my grandmother in India offered …

Health policy and public health

Articles, page 51

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