Primary Care

Why always being positive might be the worst thing for physicians to do

Physician
March 8, 2022

During the current COVID-19 pandemic and with staffing shortages, you’ve probably heard the phrase “stay positive.”

Perhaps this message comes from well-intended institutional leadership, mentors, colleagues, family members, friends or even yourself.

On the surface, the mantra of “staying positive” sounds appealing. Of course, I want to be positive for my family, patients, colleagues, learners, or people whom I lead, right? But what does “staying positive” really mean? And what might be …

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When it comes to diet culture, it’s time to end the abuse

Conditions
March 7, 2022

When you hear someone talk about a relationship that is oppressive, shameful, controlling, and detrimental to the person’s physical, mental, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing: How would you define the relationship? Would you want the person to stay?

If you heard someone say that their relationship made them isolated, depressed, disconnected: Would you encourage them to stay?

This is the type of relationship people are often pushed into when subject to weight biases …

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Why selling will make you a happier doctor

Physician
March 3, 2022

“I love selling,” said no doctor ever.

Doctors often love buying. Expensive cars. Fancy watches. Luxury vacations. Hello, lifestyle upgrade! But very few love selling.

I find it is a common response to look at salespeople with disdain. Pharmaceuticals. Medical devices. EMR systems. Everything. Everyone is always trying to sell us something! Ugh!

I admit that I was one of them. I thought I didn’t need to “sell.” Doctors are in demand, after …

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May the needs of others become personal to you

Physician
March 2, 2022

The hands were heavily stained black, the skin with severe eczematous changes, yet she did not mention them. She was a young mother who had come to the clinic to have her six-month-old baby boy seen by the “doctors from America.” I was the team leader of a faith-based medical team serving in the outskirts of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania in Northwest Africa. We were there to provide primary …

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Opportunities from the coding changes in primary care [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 25, 2022
YouTube video

“There’s a new best practice emerging, one that lets you deliver a high standard of care today but that well-prepares you for a shift to value. We’ve been talking about it throughout this article series in terms of doing more with less and making the system work for you: it’s …

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When primary care helps a psychiatrist

Physician
February 23, 2022

“Do you plan to cut down on your hours?”

This was what my primary care doctor asked me after she found me complaining about multiple somatic symptoms.

As a psychiatrist, I always took pride in how I prioritized my family’s needs and found a work-life balance. I had decided to work part-time as soon as I graduated from my training. I belong to a dual physician household. Going part-time was the best …

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Break the rules of health care with technology

Tech
February 23, 2022

In the 21st century, all but one U.S. industry has used information technology (IT) to cut costs, increase access to products and services, and improve quality.

Health care is the lone exception. For decades, medical costs have risen faster than inflation — with spending now above $4 trillion annually. For patients, accessing medical care is both time-consuming and burdensome. Meanwhile, U.S. health …

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Keep healthy boundaries and not define yourself by your profession

Physician
February 22, 2022

The COVID-19 pandemic helped bring out people’s true colors. After two years of the unrelenting pressures of the pandemic, people’s true colors came out, and I will have a frank about this truth. As physicians, we often put our patient’s comfort before ours, but at what point does one have to stop and reflect on this.

As physicians, we are often put on a pedestal and have unrealistic expectations. We want …

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A love letter from your doctor

Physician
February 14, 2022

You know who you are.

I’m writing to tell you no matter how wrenching our time was together, or messy, or scary, or short were the hours, I love you. I cherish you. And no matter how hard I tried, it was you who gave more. Because you let me in when I showed up unannounced in my pale blouse and loud heels.

You might have been curled up …

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You are a servant with a servant heart

Physician
February 10, 2022

As I was preparing for my next medical mission, I began to think about the word “minister.” Obviously from a religious standpoint, it has certain connotations, one of which is “to serve”. When you are ministering to someone’s needs, you are serving them.

This caused me to think of my dear friend in Nepal, Fahad. Fahad is a young Muslim physician with whom I had the privilege of serving and working …

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The power of a patient’s thank you

Physician
February 6, 2022

I turned to leave.

She spoke softly, “Thank you. Thank you for coming.”

The way these words were spoken caused me to gulp a deep breath while my heart fluttered.

In my mind, I was doing my job. A physician visiting one of our COVID-positive patients in the hospital.

In my mind, I wasn’t even able to offer her human connection as I would have wished to do.

Sound: Gowned up in PPE, including two …

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Why boundaries should be part of your 2022 physician goals

Physician
February 3, 2022

As we enter another predictably unpredictable year in medicine, we all have some sort of goals for this year, or at least we should. Goals help us experience mastery, even if our goals include brushing our teeth daily, leaving medicine or traveling.

Hopefully, more boundaries are on every physician’s goal list for 2022.

The word “boundaries” brings up our medical school psychiatry rotation or physician-patient relationship for most physicians. But what if …

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The importance of treating early treatment diseases

Conditions
February 3, 2022

Today, the practice of medicine mainly involves treating medical conditions after symptoms of the medical condition become obvious (e.g., setting a fracture or treating pneumonia), or preventing disease for a population of patients using a preventative that has few side effects (e.g., vaccinations, mammograms).

In the future, medicine will be more predictive and proactive. Medicine will be better able to predict that a disease will occur for an individual before there …

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What shared journeys to the afterlife teach about dying well and living better

Conditions
January 31, 2022

An excerpt from At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better.

What brings you here?

I ask this question of every person who steps through the door because they have come to talk about death—the most universal of all human experiences yet the most difficult to discuss.

In modern culture, we have an uneasy relationship …

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The gift of honoring life

Physician
January 30, 2022

The doorbell at my father’s house rang, and the dogs went crazy. A physician was at the front door who had requested to come to pay his respects and to check on my father, as he had lost his wife (my mother) of more than six decades just days before.

He sat with us at the kitchen table, and we spoke briefly of other things: dogs he never thought he’d own …

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Debunking the myths around asynchronous care

Tech
January 25, 2022

It is no secret that telehealth adoption has skyrocketed as a result of the pandemic, and because of that, many health systems are in the process of shifting to a virtual-first hybrid care model. Unfortunately, video visits, which most will equate with telehealth, have done little to help with the age-old issues of patient access and convenience, provider efficiency, and rising health care costs.

Patients often encounter the same frustrations during …

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