Primary Care

An expert’s advice about staying in private medical practice

Physician
December 19, 2022

Most physicians are aware of our nation’s disintegration of private medical practices. Bailing out of private medical practice for financial or other reasons predicts the takeover of government-controlled employed medical practice as well as the medical profession itself—including medical school education.

One world-renowned marketing and business expert offers important advice for medical care professionals who prefer to remain independent of such medical practice restrictions while we still can do so:

A lot …

Read more…

Reflecting on health and wellness: Celebrating the wins and learning from the losses

Physician
December 18, 2022

The game came down to the last seconds.

Down by three, we scored on a layup. Now a one-point game. And then, it was over. A narrow 1-point loss in the championship game for our middle school boys team.

One started crying, then another. It caught on like something infectious, and suddenly parents were tearing up as well. As one of the coaches for the team, I wondered what we could have …

Read more…

A blessing for health care workers

Conditions
December 16, 2022

As winter approaches and life slows down, it’s a time to pause and reflect on all everyone has had to endure these past few years. To those involved in health care, it has been an especially difficult time… a test of both resolution and inner strength. With my hope that all will see brighter days ahead, I offer the following as my means of giving thanks to all of you …

Read more…

Ethical consumerism: How to shop responsibly for the holidays 

Physician
December 15, 2022

After record-setting sales of $889.3 billion last holiday season, the National Retail Federation predicts that Americans will spend between $942-960 billion this year. Deloitte forecasts that each American will make $1,455 worth of holiday-related purchases individually.

It is possible to have your holiday spending support impactful companies and causes while getting the gifts you want your loved ones to enjoy.

What is ethical consumerism?

Business Insider defines ethical consumerism as “the practice of spending …

Read more…

The solution to a crumbling primary care foundation is direct primary care

Policy
December 14, 2022

In a report published by the Commonwealth Fund and released in August 2021, the performance of the U.S. health care system was compared to that of other high-income countries. The results were stunning: despite investing far more of its gross domestic product in health care, the U.S. ranks dead last overall and last on access to care, administrative efficiency, health equity, and health …

Read more…

What my 10 year old is teaching me about boundaries [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 12, 2022
YouTube video

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

“As I’ve been coaching physicians, I’ve realized that many of us have a tendency to just ‘grin and bear it’ when it comes to the challenges and stresses of the medical profession. We often tell ourselves that …

Read more…

Perfectionism will kill you

Physician
December 11, 2022

Every doctor wants to be perfect. We want to make sure our diagnosis is perfect. Our treatment plan is perfect, and our outcome will be perfect. Patients want the perfect doctor. They want us to get it right on the first try, each and every time. The problem is perfectionism, as hard as we try to achieve it or wish for it, is not attainable. Perfectionism will kill you.

Read more…

How female social conditioning leads to burnout

Physician
December 10, 2022

There has been a lot of talk about physician burnout over the past few years, and as an occupational medicine physician, I’m happy to see that conversation is taking place. For too long, we just saw burnout as an acceptable hazard that just comes with the job.

But it’s become clear to me that there’s a big missing piece in the discussion of burnout — particularly when we try to answer …

Read more…

How medicine is broken

Physician
December 10, 2022

I read KevinMD regularly. I see a lot of stories about how broken medicine is: how doctors are retiring, leaving early because they are overworked or underappreciated, or being manipulated by corporate medicine. All these complaints are valid.  There are also articles about how residency is brutal and causes mental distress to trainees, with the onerous hours and unrealistic expectations. That, too, is true.  Medical training, at least in my experience, is …

Read more…

An empowered woman’s guide to better health [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 9, 2022
YouTube video

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

“It is well known that men and women have different communication styles, and learning how to effectively communicate with each other is important. This is one of the main focuses of our book, which aims to give …

Read more…

Sexual health is health: It’s time to embrace that in medicine

Physician
December 9, 2022

For many of us, while in medical school and residency, sexual health history was mostly taught from a disease standpoint. If a patient had a complaint about sexual dysfunction, had a symptom or concern about a sexually transmitted infection, needed contraception, or had specific questions related to the reproductive system, then we took a sexual history. Sexual health history taking in many programs is limited to an elective in the …

Read more…

How women manage and mismanage their health [PODCAST]

Podcast
December 6, 2022
YouTube video

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

“Shame has no place in illness or in health. The first step to eradicating shame is to openly speak up about symptoms and concerns and for health care providers to commit to acknowledging and interrogating the needs …

Read more…

You’re not being frivolous. You’re being fabulously human.

Physician
December 5, 2022

[Frivolous: not having any serious purpose or value]

For years, I’ve noticed something that’s bothered me. I see it almost daily within social media women’s physician groups. The post starts with, “I know this is a frivolous question, but …” What follows are questions about topics ranging from cosmetic recommendations to travel advice.

Questions like:

“Where can I find concert tickets?”

“What color should I paint my bedroom?”

What do you all think of this …

Read more…

ADVERTISEMENT

The unstoppable momentum of a medical “fact” with no source

Physician
December 3, 2022

When I started my company in 2009, personal experience was a driving force in identifying the problem I wanted to help solve. As a neurosurgeon, I often treated patients who were neurologically devastated by acute bleeding in the brain after years’ worth of poorly controlled high blood pressure. In many cases, when I asked the family why the patient quit taking their hypertension medication, they described the patient as “not …

Read more…

Bring the real You to your workplace

Physician
December 3, 2022

Life is short, so make yours extraordinary. Capitalize on what makes you, YOU, and be your own unapologetic self.

The Almighty designed us as unique but imperfect and flawed individuals, prone to sin and blundering error. But that’s the great part of being human; we’re expected to sin, blunder, and make mistakes. We’re made to err for the sake of learning and growth; otherwise, we’d wither into uninspiring nothingness. Keep this …

Read more…

Why even doctors need regular doctor visits

Physician
December 1, 2022

After a great game of doubles tennis, a good friend brought up a recent visit with his primary care physician while sitting with friends, trying to cool down. He expressed appreciation for his position but complained about the need to see his doctor every three or six months, all the while acknowledging various medical problems being addressed.

This led to general comments by several non-physician friends about how they feel that …

Read more…

Has medicine lost its why?

Physician
November 27, 2022

From the halls of ancient Greece to the heights of television screens, the myth that the physician is more god than mortal has stood the test of time. As such, we are held to moral and superhuman standards no matter how tough things get. And thanks to our friend Hippocrates, we are oath-bound in our virtues to help anyone in need; while putting OUR personal needs aside, of course. Many …

Read more…

Why every doctor needs a translator

Education
November 25, 2022

Twenty years as a medical malpractice defense attorney has given me a superpower. I’m an extraordinary translator. In the courtroom, we occasionally hire translators to interpret when a witness speaks a language other than English. They help the jury understand the witness and collect the information they need to make a decision. But we need someone able to translate for the jury when a physician starts speaking “medicine.” This also …

Read more…

The physician’s real problem isn’t burnout

Physician
November 25, 2022

I read an article recently suggesting that physicians were burned out from hearing about burnout. The proposed solution was to create systemic changes to help alleviate the burden of complexities of care that have polluted health care delivery. The solutions involved adding a team of individuals, including nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, pharmacy assistants, and other physician extenders.

Once again, rather than focus on the physician-patient relationship on which medicine is based, …

Read more…

Why HIV and COVID-19 vaccine screening should go together

Conditions
November 22, 2022

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans got accustomed to regularly answering a series of questions about our risk of exposure to COVID and our possible symptoms. For more than two years, our country remained laser-focused on this protection, demonstrating our health care system’s ability to mount a strong response to a public health crisis. So why haven’t we taken similar precautions in the face of other crises, particularly HIV?

For too long, …

Read more…

103
pages