<span itemprop="author">Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA

Author's posts

How trade wars could destroy the U.S. health care system

The term “core competency” was coined by management experts C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel in their influential 1990 article titled “The core competence of the corporation,” published in the Harvard Business Review. Prahalad and H…

Chainsaw politics may cut deeply into the fabric of health care

Federal downsizing, while touted as a means to streamline operations and eliminate bureaucratic waste, has significant and often detrimental consequences for the U.S. health care system. Two documents shed light on this issue from complementary perspec…

The future of diversity in medical schools is under threat

The recent decision by the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from its website has sparked a significant debate within the academic community. This move, aimed at complying with an executive o…

Citizenship should not be a condition of treatment

The Hippocratic Oath does not require citizenship as a condition of treatment. The oath, which serves as a foundational ethical guideline for physicians, emphasizes principles such as doing no harm, maintaining patient confidentiality, and practicing m…

What if transitions of care resembled transitions of power?

The peaceful transition of power to the 47th president of the U.S. occurred January 6, 2025. It was the loser of the presidential election who ensured an orderly process and ironically certified the results. In medicine, transitions of care – whether f…

Don’t dream it’s over: the resilience we all need in 2025

Many songs and famous refrains flooded my mind as we transitioned into 2025. “Living on a thin line,” “It’s all over now, baby blue,” and “Can’t find my way home” were some of the notable downers. On the …

Small moments that made 2024 unforgettable

Frank Sinatra’s 1965 hit, “It was a very good year,” framed the benchmarks of a life well-lived through relationships at various ages: when he was 17, “small-town girls … on the village green”; at 21, “city gir…

AI’s cognitive gap: Why human doctors remain irreplaceable

Around Christmas time every year, The BMJ publishes lighthearted feature articles and original, peer-reviewed research intended to ease physicians into the holiday season and help them escape the drudgery of practice. The 2024 collection of articles is…

Taglines, chief complaints, and the risk of losing the story

A fellow writer and I were having an online exchange. She said her painting was being interrupted by bursts of writing. She texted, “I’m writing about how storytelling is liberating itself from commerce, politics, religion, and emerging as …

Taglines, chief complaints, and the risk of losing the story

A fellow writer and I were having an online exchange. She said her painting was being interrupted by bursts of writing. She texted, “I’m writing about how storytelling is liberating itself from commerce, politics, religion, and emerging as …