Practice Management

Physicians writing on KevinMD about running a practice: staffing and overhead, the payer paperwork that arrives with every patient, ownership and consolidation, the administrators and executives who now employ most physicians, and the models physicians have built to get out from under all of it. Four maintained records draw on this archive: Primary care: what physicians say, in their own words, Direct primary care: what physicians say, in their own words, Physicians and administrators: what physicians say about who runs medicine, in their own words, and Private equity and corporate medicine: what physicians say, in their own words.

Physicians use impalpable sustenance when faced with adversity

Parvez Dara, MD, MBA

Physician

May 5, 2020

There are those moments of clarity that come from tempestuous thoughts: a eureka moment indifferent to time or space. Thoughts like the zephyr that fill the sails of a sloop on a once quiet lake.

Judgment interrogates our experience and knowledge in the same breath. What use is the theory of movements or ordained trajectories in flight with indifference to wind or a gathering storm? Judgment requires a spate of intuition …

How COVID-19 is forcing physicians to rethink the concept of job security

Christopher H. Loo, MD, PhD

Physician Finance

May 5, 2020

Prior to 2000, a practicing physician was almost guaranteed a prosperous economic livelihood.

The guaranteed future meant that a physician could take on financial risks such as using student loans to finance their education, purchase a house during residency, and start building a family.

After becoming an attending, affording the million-dollar house, saving for retirement, financing their kids’ education, a physician could then use the remainder to afford the luxuries of life. …

Vulnerability is challenging but necessary for health care professionals

Tracey O'Connell, MD

Physician

May 5, 2020

As someone trained in Brené Brown’s curriculum for helping professionals, vulnerability is my jam.

As a physician? Not so much.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown already burned-out health care providers into the arena with more than just a shortage of equipment. We are now expected to risk our own lives caring for others, which was not part of the original job description. Medical providers are not Marines, nor do we work for …

COVID-19 is becoming boring

Karyn P. Grant

Physician

May 5, 2020

Radical statement. I know it may sound crazy.

We’ve been at the COVID-19 battle for what seems like forever. The fight is not going away for a long time; it’s going to morph into keeping the virus contained while we get the economy back in full gear. Get people back to work and play, kids back to school and reconnect with our family and friends.

So, for many, this becomes yet another …

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COVID-19 is becoming boring

Rebuilding a post-coronavirus culture of medicine

Steven Reames

Conditions and Diseases

May 4, 2020

In a previous article, I have described the physician burnout epidemic as a raging river whose features included safety nets designed to catch people before “going over the falls,” the need to teach individual survival skills (e.g., resilience), evaluating your raft and river guide for safety (employers and their leadership), and so on:

The “rapid” pace of change in the health care industry is so volatile, so …

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Rebuilding a post-coronavirus culture of medicine

Is there opportunity for physicians in the pandemic?

Robert Frolichstein, MD

Physician

May 3, 2020

We are living in unprecedented times that will be pivotal for our beloved profession. In the Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities, the period of time in which the story was set was pivotal in the evolution of society and politics. Our current times may provide the setting that allows physicians to regain independence from the medical-industrial complex that is the current state of the delivery of health care …

It’s time for health care professionals to acknowledge our vulnerability and allow others in

Victor H. Hatcher Jr.

Conditions and Diseases

April 28, 2020

It was only day one, and I was covered in blood halfway to my elbows from doing chest compressions in the operating room. The room was filled with doctors, nurses, and other OR staff. Empty bags that once contained life-saving blood, plasma, and platelets lay scattered across the floor. She was young, not the kind of patient you would ever suspect you’d be sweating over as you frantically recall what …

Combining emotion and reason in decision making

Robert Frolichstein, MD

Physician

April 28, 2020

We are living in unprecedented times. Times filled with emotion and very little hard science. We are faced with the rapid spread of a new disease that has devastating consequences. The rapid spread is overwhelming our system that is designed for a steady state. Periodically, we are faced with events that overwhelm our system; mass shootings are a prime example. The duration of those events is measured in hours. We …

The new physician personal statement

Francis Yoo, DO

Physician

April 27, 2020

We write personal statements when we apply to medical school and residency. They serve as a sort of window to our soul, our reflections and aspirations, our physician vision and mission. I was doing some soul-searching, and I found my medical school personal statement. The following is a snippet from it:

I believe that the purpose of medicine, of the restoration of health, is to remind people of their own mortality …

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The new physician personal statement

Does joy in work matter during a pandemic?

Derek Feeley, DBA

Physician

April 25, 2020

At a time when health care professionals across the globe are working around the clock against COVID-19, it may seem tone-deaf at best to think about joy in work.

We all agree that the top priority for health care leaders now is to focus on expanding testing and ensuring enough proper equipment and other resources for staff. In the health care world’s current hierarchy of needs, these are undoubtedly at the …

Is asking for hazard pay “not becoming of a compassionate and caring physician”?

Elizabeth Hlavinka

Physician

April 24, 2020

New York University residents are seeking compensation for the increased risk they face as they are called to the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, but leadership has declined their request for hazard pay and now stands accused on social media of gaslighting residents.

Residents created a petition, addressed to NYU Langone Medical Center leadership, outlining the increased risk they face as the demand placed on the hospital system “skyrockets.” They ask for …

The triple aim revised: financial shock, burnout, and imposter syndrome

Susan MacLellan-Tobert, MD

Physician Finance

April 22, 2020

The pandemic has revised the triple aim framework of health care. The simultaneous triple pursuit of improving the patient experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of health care is currently not possible. With widespread forced lockdowns, we are unable to provide the optimal patient care experience, the health of the population is declining (limited access, postponed procedures, delayed vaccinations, etc.). And while …

How microaggressions contribute to impostor syndrome

Jennifer Hunt, MD

Physician

April 22, 2020

I accepted my job as chair of the department of pathology at the University of Arkansas before I turned 40, though I didn’t start until after my birthday. I don’t know if I was the youngest chair in the country, but I think I was the only one with a car seat and a spare diaper in my purse. My memories of those first few months are still vivid, even …

5 reasons I’m still investing in the stock market during the coronavirus

Altelisha Taylor, MD, MPH

Physician Finance

April 20, 2020

With the coronavirus pandemic, many cities across the country have shut down. While some people are working from home, many others have been furloughed or lost their jobs altogether. With this rapid decrease in economic activity, the stock market has taken a huge hit. Many people who had a big chunk of their network in stocks, have seen a sharp decline in the overall value of their investments. In the …

Use COVID-19 to get your life back

Karyn P. Grant

Conditions and Diseases

April 18, 2020

It’s time for some good news and hope about life during and after COVID-19.

You may be frantically racing from room to room in your house, and from role to role to keep everything together during this unprecedented time.

You’re a doctor, parent, teacher, partner, chef, housekeeper, and business owner, to name just a few.

Meanwhile, you know that your staff is relaxing at home, catching up on Netflix series, baking cookies, and …

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Use COVID-19 to get your life back

This pandemic highlights the need for an emergency fund

Cory Fawcett, MD

Physician Finance

April 9, 2020

Out of the blue, a new virus popped up, and ten weeks later, it is a pandemic. Within the last ten weeks, doctors have identified this new disease, figured out how it is transmitted, identified what body fluid we need to test to determine who has contracted the disease, developed a test for it, mass-produced that test, and distributed the tests all over the world. What an incredible response we …

How doctors can rush to complete their wills

Dewan Farhana, DO

Physician Finance

April 9, 2020

With COVID-19 raging through the nation, and limited supply of PPE at hospitals, doctors and other critical care personnel are at high risk due to their increased and daily exposure to the virus. For health care workers, the need to plan for a possible worst-case outcome for themselves and their families has become an immediate concern. Doctors are spending limited weekend time Read more…

How doctors can rush to complete their wills

In a pandemic, choosing your thoughts is where your power and control lie

Jessie Mahoney, MD

Conditions and Diseases

April 7, 2020

As health care providers, we are facing unprecedented challenges right now. Thank you to every one of my medical colleagues for your valuable contributions at this moment.

Wellness and self-care have never been more important than they are at this moment. We must care for patients to the best of our abilities, but we must also care for ourselves. If you sacrifice your own physical and emotional health, who will be …

In the midst of coronavirus: Buy disability insurance

Altelisha Taylor, MD, MPH

Physician Finance

April 5, 2020

As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the country and leave lasting impacts on our economy, many of us are trying our best to cope with the changes. While this can take a huge toll on our mental health and leave us unsure of our next move, there’s one thing we need to do in the midst of the chaos: Buy long-term disability insurance. Here are six things you …

The doctor’s budget — remastered

Paul Morton, CFP

Physician Finance

April 2, 2020

About a decade ago, I had my first doctor-client. And part of what they wanted to discuss was budgeting in order to save more. They just got new jobs and wanted some general planning for the sake of making good decisions.

Software for budgeting and spending history didn’t exist the way it does now. I wanted to provide the best help I could on this topic, and I knew about budgeting, …

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The doctor’s budget — remastered