Author's posts
Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications
I won’t be using CVS pharmacies anymore. Sure, I may still need to send prescriptions their way as a physician—but as a consumer, I’m done. Why? CVS has recently implemented a new phone system that forces callers to leave a voicemail instea…
International doctors blocked by visa delays as U.S. faces physician shortage
This story is fiction but inspired by the real and worsening challenges faced by international medical graduates navigating U.S. immigration policy. The acceptance letter sat printed on top of Nabeel Khan’s passport, still warm from the old inkje…
How inspiration and family stories shape our most meaningful moments
An excerpt from Real Medicine, Unreal Stories: Lessons and Insights from Clinical Practice. The dinner plates had been cleared and a lazy instrumental playlist drifted through the background. Thad Brigham leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile cro…
In a fractured world, Brian Wilson’s message still heals
In memory of Brian Wilson (1942–2025). In a world increasingly marked by fracture and fear, it is hard not to return to the quiet, aching clarity of Brian Wilson’s song Love and mercy. Originally released in 1988, the song was not a protest anthe…
5 years later: Doctors reveal the untold truths of COVID-19
An excerpt from Real Medicine, Unreal Stories: Lessons and Insights from Clinical Practice. The magnolias were blooming early this spring, their pale pink petals fluttering down onto the worn brick pathway outside the hospital courtyard. Dr. Eva Carden…
How a $75 million jet brought down America’s boldest doctor
This article is satire. Dr. Donovan Trumble was not your average internist. In fact, if you asked him, he wasn’t your average anything. He called himself “the most successful physician-researcher in America—maybe ever,” and once decla…
What independent bookstores and private practice doctors teach us about human connection
An excerpt from Narrative Medicine: New and Selected Essays. One of my adult daughters recently reminded me of a cherished memory. When she was about four years old, we spent a few hours together at a small, independently owned bookstore. I selected bo…
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…
