Public Health & Policy

Forced immigration and the American dream: a physician’s story

Physician
May 22, 2024

My grandfather was forced to immigrate from Japan to Canada in 1910. As I learned, he owned many sake factories in Japan, which were nationalized in a government takeover of certain businesses. Governments do that. The family was heavily burdened, and the government pressured them to move across the Pacific.

Over the next century, our family prospered under the Canadian government, with some family members coming to the United States.

One reflection …

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Health insurers are ignoring price transparency rules at the expense of private practice

Policy
May 17, 2024

Since January 1, 2023, the Transparency in Coverage Rule required health insurance providers and health insurers to provide price information to participants in a publicly accessible place. This means consumers should, in theory, be able to go to any payer’s website and see what different doctors, hospitals, and health systems are charging for the same services. The law was meant to allow consumers the ability to shop for health care …

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Uncovering health care’s true challenges: beyond doctor-patient dynamics

Policy
May 11, 2024

There are frequent accusations against physicians and other health care professionals regarding their behavior and/or education: they cannot communicate, are misogynist, racist, and ageist, and are poorly educated, despite American physicians training longer than those in other developed countries. But are these complainants aiming at the most obvious, though not most significant, target? There are more pressing problems than patient-provider relationships, as serious as they are, weightier concerns that are …

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Proposition F and equity in San Francisco [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 6, 2024
YouTube video

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Join medical student Elizabeth Picazo to explore the intersection of health care and politics. Elizabeth shares her insights on the implications of Proposition F in San Francisco, discussing its impact on marginalized communities …

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Harnessing U.S. health care’s resources to navigate the next decade

Policy
May 1, 2024

The Doctors Company

American health care faces persistent issues with consolidation, workforce shortages, integration of new technologies, and unrelenting economic pressure. In 2023, technologies such as clinical decision support (CDS) and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools continued to emerge rapidly, offering both promise and risk. Meanwhile, even as long-standing care and business models are upended, the ripple effects of COVID-19 continue. Physician …

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The Supreme Court must consider science, not pseudo-science, in public health rulings

Policy
April 16, 2024

Measles is on the rise in more than a dozen states, an alarming surge for a vaccine-preventable disease eliminated in the United States nearly 25 years ago. Meanwhile, young women exposed to relentless unscientific deception by social media algorithms are abandoning hormonal contraception in favor of significantly less effective methods that result in more unwanted pregnancies. In Louisiana, women with nonviable …

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Navigating organizational dysfunction: lessons from Boeing

Conditions
April 13, 2024

If it ain’t Boeing, I ain’t going—at one time, public opinion of an engineering company run by engineers. Today, perception is a little different. The multinational conglomerate and defense contractor owns some staggering recent mishaps—safety systems, door plugs, unclear technical issues. A disconnect between senior management and hands-on employees is reported. Analysts consider recent events symptoms of longer-standing organizational pathology, finally coming to light.

In American business, executives win leadership positions …

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Medicine is not apolitical: Your vote dictates your ability to practice medicine

Policy
April 11, 2024

It’s Wednesday, March 6th, 2024. The day after Super Tuesday. I am sitting in the library, taking a break from writing a final paper for my health economics class, when I see a Politico article: “San Francisco’s Proposition F passed.”

3,000 miles away from my hometown and my medical school, all I can think about are the patients I served in the hospital who were barely …

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Health care waste exposed [PODCAST]

Podcast
March 28, 2024
YouTube video

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We are joined by Edward Hoffer, an internal medicine physician, to explore the alarming levels of waste plaguing the U.S. health care system. Together, we shine a light on the various culprits behind …

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Cryonics: advancements, ethics, and skepticism

Tech
March 19, 2024

Scientists have transitioned from crafting flying contraptions capable of moving massive payloads through unfriendly skies to exploring the vast expanse of the cosmos, affirming that the concept of impossibility holds no sway over their endeavors. Yet, their ambition now surpasses earthly confines as they endeavor to replicate the divine feat of Lazarus’s resurrection on a monumental scale. This profound aspiration propels neuroscientists into the captivating realm of cryogenics, igniting a …

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Reducing political influence in health care: Building trust, transparency, and equity

Physician
March 14, 2024

In our hyperpolarized and political society, it seems everything has a political angle, including health care. I think that some of this conflict is unnecessarily but intentionally introduced by special interest groups to force a point, a change in policy, or the acceptance of societal positions that are controversial for many and not universally accepted. Examples include LGBT issues, gender changing or affirming care, abortion access, birth control, health …

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Medical debt-driven homelessness

Physician
March 3, 2024

The fictional 2007 television story depicting the plight of a widow with two daughters who, as a family, became homeless due to medical debt incurred during her since-deceased husband’s health care, is an eye-opener and heartbreaking. However, nowadays, the fact is emulating that fiction when statistics of homelessness risk due to medical debt are bewildering and shocking.

As compared to credit card debt, where buyers can at least gauge the maximum …

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Health insurance CEOs face “prior authorization”: a taste of their own medicine?

Physician
February 25, 2024

A fictional monologue.

You’ve reached the prior authorization denial appeal line for insurance CEOs. Case number, please.

I’m sorry you’ve had to hold for over an hour, but we can’t proceed if we don’t have your case number, a copy of your business degree on file, GMAT score, three letters of recommendation, the middle name of your dentist, and your high school transcript.

Yes, I was only joking about the dentist! LOL! We’re …

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Truth be told: We have a leadership crisis, not a health care crisis

Policy
February 20, 2024

In the annals of history, the transformative impact of a few courageous leaders has left an indelible mark, altering the course of nations and reshaping the face of societies. From the visionary leadership of figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela to the groundbreaking initiatives of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, history is replete with examples of leaders who navigated their nations through crises, leaving an enduring legacy. Unfortunately, …

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Blame game in U.S. health care: Who’s responsible and what’s the solution?

Policy
February 16, 2024

The perception that our U.S. health care system is broken has become nearly fact among health care workers and the public alike. Many other countries are facing similar challenges, beyond the recent spotlight on our Canadian and British friends across the pond. The issue remains: Who are we to blame and more importantly, what can we do about it?

The angst is typically directed at insurance companies or government interference. Many …

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High-deductible plans and chronic conditions [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 14, 2024
YouTube video

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In this episode, we sit down with Shirin Hund, an internal medicine physician, to explore the impact of high-deductible health plans on individuals with chronic medical conditions like diabetes. Shirin discusses the financial barriers these patients face, the consequences for medication adherence and health outcomes, and the need for legislative changes to improve access …

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From fee-for-service to value-based care [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 9, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Michael Poku, a physician executive, as we delve into the challenges and solutions for transforming the U.S. health care system. Explore how the fee-for-service model perpetuates health inequities, the importance of value-based care, and the impact …

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The Federal SAVE Act: a beacon of hope for health care worker safety

Policy
January 27, 2024

It’s a narrative that has become disturbingly familiar: different health care providers, yet the same traumatic story.

Ramon, an idealistic new nurse, was drawn to nursing to make a meaningful impact in the lives of the most vulnerable. But in an instant, his love for nursing changed. After just six months as a nurse, a patient’s son viciously attacked Ramon, enraged over his mother’s COVID-19-related hospitalization. In a blind fury, …

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