Pulmonology

The biological cost of night-shift work on circadian rhythms

Conditions

March 17, 2026

“Try not to work the night shift if you can.” Many physicians have said this to patients. Some have said it to colleagues. Often, we say it because we understand the science: Working through the night comes at a physiologic cost. Night-shift work is associated with weight gain, chronic fatigue, disrupted sleep, insulin resistance, and increased long-term risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Circadian disruption affects …

Tobacco treatment neglect: Why 25 million smokers are left behind

Edward Anselm, MD

Conditions

February 11, 2026

If a new disease emerged and killed this many people, everyone would be talking about it. This death rate has been constant over the last decade, despite the declining prevalence of cigarette smoking. The decline in prevalence is, for the most part, due to reduced adoption of smoking by teenagers, and younger smokers have been shifting to vaping. The prevalence of smoking among older, poor, less well-educated, and rural populations …

Methamphetamine-induced lung injury: the hidden diagnosis in South Texas

Shiv K. Goel, MD

Conditions

January 21, 2026

Methamphetamine has become an unavoidable presence in South Texas medicine. It shows up in our EDs, clinics, and ICUs, usually framed as a cardiotoxic, neurotoxic, or psychiatric problem. But over the past few years, a different pattern has kept surfacing in my practice: “pneumonia” cases that don’t behave like pneumonia, young lungs that look like ARDS, and hypoxic patients whose imaging and labs do not match the story, until someone …

The dangers of oral steroids for seasonal illness

Megan Milne, PharmD

Meds

December 25, 2025

“I’m here (cough) to pick up (cough) the steroid,” says the visibly sick patient at the pharmacy. The pharmacist tries not to breathe in too deeply to catch the contagion as she hands over the box of pills. The patient has no idea that others have nicknamed it “poison” or “the Devil’s drug,” because it’s not worth it. The risks of casually prescribing prednisone or Medrol Dosepaks for seasonal illnesses …

How Acthar Gel became a $250,000 drug

Bharat Desai, MD

Physician

November 19, 2025

It started with a phone call.

“Doc,” my CEO said, “do you know this doctor?”

I asked why.

“He wrote a prescription for a drug that cost $250,000 for one course.”

“You must mean $25,000,” I said.

“No,” she replied. “The insurer already paid two hundred fifty thousand dollars.”

I assumed it had to be a miracle therapy, some one-in-a-million life-saving treatment. Then she told me the name: Acthar Gel. I nearly fell out of my …

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How Acthar Gel became a $250,000 drug

Why billionaires dress like college students

Osmund Agbo, MD

Physician

November 14, 2025

You notice them wherever they go. The new titans of industry dressed like college kids on their way to class. Recently, I saw a picture of Jack Dorsey, the founder of Twitter, in a plain cotton T-shirt and nerdy trousers. With his overgrown beard completing the look, he resembled a man emerging from months deep in the jungle after a survivalist contest. Then there is Mark Zuckerberg, perpetually clad in …

How to stay safe from back-to-school illnesses

Kevin King, PhD

Conditions

October 15, 2025

From daycare to college, the back-to-school season almost always correlates to one thing: a rise in respiratory illnesses. In late summer, when children are returning to their classrooms, outbreaks of illnesses like strep throat, influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) become more common, and schools can quickly become amplifiers of community transmission. These infections can spread rapidly through contact with surfaces where the virus or bacteria is present, like …

What Paige Bueckers’s historic rookie season can teach doctors

Devika Rao, MD

Physician

September 29, 2025

Paige Bueckers, a 23-year-old WNBA star, was drafted number one this year to the Dallas Wings and has been having a historic rookie season. Against the Los Angeles Sparks on August 20, she scored forty-four points while shooting eighty percent, tying an all-time WNBA rookie record. As a physician, I find that Bueckers’s mindset has a lot to teach me about being a physician. Here are the top five Paige …

From nurse practitioner to leader in quality improvement [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

September 9, 2025

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

Board-certified nurse practitioner Shabeena Hirani discusses her article “From nurse practitioner to quality improvement leader in sleep medicine,” sharing her journey from clinical care to driving systemic change. Shabeena explains how her …

Why sleep must become a central pillar in modern health care [PODCAST]

The Podcast by KevinMD

Podcast

September 4, 2025

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

Physician executive Carlos Nunez discusses his article “Why sleep is the missing pillar in modern health care,” emphasizing the urgent need to treat sleep as essential to overall wellness alongside diet and …

Why I left health care after 11 years as a respiratory therapist

Michelle Weiss

Conditions

August 11, 2025

I became a respiratory therapist at 28, after years of trying to get into nursing school. It wasn’t until a friend, an RT at my city’s only level one trauma center, said, “You don’t want to be a nurse. You want to be an RT,” that something clicked. He let me shadow for a shift in the medical cardiac ICU, and I fell in love with the work instantly.

Watching him …

Poorly targeted patient outreach is wasted outreach

Denise Reich

Conditions

August 10, 2025

The phone call from my insurance carrier came in unexpectedly one morning. “We see that you’ve just been discharged from the hospital …”

I blinked. I had neither been admitted nor discharged from any hospital. When I pressed for details, the caller claimed her records showed I’d been hospitalized for more than a month. Why? For which condition? She didn’t have that information, she told me. Only the dates.

My first thought: …

From nurse practitioner to quality improvement leader in sleep medicine

Shabeena Hirani, DNP, APRN

Conditions

August 6, 2025

I am a doctor of nursing practice and board-certified nurse practitioner with over a decade of experience in internal medicine, pulmonology, and sleep medicine. My career has taken shape in the diverse and fast-paced outpatient care settings of New York, where I’ve had the opportunity to serve patients from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Many of the individuals I care for face chronic respiratory illnesses, comorbid conditions, and significant …

Why embracing imperfection makes you truly unforgettable

Osmund Agbo, MD

Physician

July 30, 2025

I love comedy clubs. Always have. My wife calls them my happy place and she’s not wrong. Although I haven’t had the opportunity to attend one recently, I often find myself immersed in stand-up clips from the likes of Dave Chappelle, Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, and a constellation of other comedic virtuosos. Back in the pressure-cooker days of my residency training in New York City, those clubs were my sanctuary. …

Why sleep is the missing pillar in modern health care

Carlos Nunez, MD

Conditions

June 24, 2025

Sleep is not a luxury — it’s a fundamental pillar of health on par with diet and exercise. As we enter a new era of sleep, people are more aware than ever before of how rest impacts their overall health. We are at an inflection point where sleep is increasingly recognized as essential to preventative care and wellness. Yet, many still suffer in silence, trapped in a cycle of exhaustion.

The …

Closing the gap in respiratory care: How robotics can expand access in underserved communities

Evgeny Ignatov, MD, RRT

Tech

May 29, 2025

As a U.S.-licensed respiratory therapist and former ENT physician, I have seen firsthand how respiratory illnesses can devastate lives when early intervention is out of reach. From hospital wards in Moscow to respiratory units in Florida, the one constant I’ve observed is that underserved communities—whether due to geography or poverty—suffer the most. Across the United States, millions of patients living with chronic respiratory diseases like COPD and asthma lack consistent …

Why personal responsibility is not enough in the fight against nicotine addiction

Travis Douglass, MD

Conditions

May 17, 2025

In an interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. addressed whether society should bear the cost of health care for individuals whose health problems are largely self-inflicted, citing smoking as an example. He questioned the fairness of providing the same level of care to people who, in his words, “predictably get sick” from behaviors like smoking as to those born with congenital illnesses.

While emphasizing personal responsibility is important, this …

The hidden burden of pulmonary embolism in Africa

Princess Benson

Conditions

March 20, 2025

In 2025, we will commemorate 77 years since the death of one of America’s most influential presidents, Theodore Roosevelt. He was the 26th and youngest president of the United States, succeeding William McKinley. Roosevelt was a pioneer of peace, winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 after successfully mediating the end of the war between Japan and Russia. He accomplished many great things for the people of America and the …

I’ve felt the pain of 3 generations of nicotine addiction

Stephanie Lawrence

Conditions

January 13, 2025

“Almost everyone I know has either quit” – my friend paused, “… or died.” She said the “or died” part with a bit more resignation than horror.

We were having this conversation outside of our busy local pub a few weeks ago. Some of us had stepped outside to get some fresh air, and someone pulled out a package of cigarettes and offered them around.

What was once a common occurrence now …

How a physician’s COVID-19 scare revealed a hidden health condition

Meredith Milligan, MD, MPH

Physician

December 8, 2024

“Just take a deep breath.”

It’s the first thing we say when we see someone upset or overwhelmed, and generally, it’s good advice. There is a wealth of evidence supporting the benefits of deep breathing, and it is not uncommon for me to pull out a handout during a patient visit to walk someone through a breathing technique. I’m a family physician—anxiety, asthma, COPD, cancer—it’s all relevant; it’s all primary care. …

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