Adapted from Greed to Do Good: The Untold Story of CDC’s Disastrous War on Opioids. The 2016 CDC opioid guideline seemed to make obvious sense: Americans were consuming far too many prescribed opioids. Many users of illicit opioids reported that …
Category: Conditions
When leadership turns defensive: the impact of workplace paranoia on professionalism
Leadership in any industry, especially in health care, demands a delicate balance of trust, ethical judgment, and professionalism. However, when leaders view collaboration through a lens of suspicion, assuming that employees are conspiring against them…
From the other side of the table: a plea for empathy
Unless you’ve lived it, you can’t fully understand. We’ve all cared for patients with cancer. We’ve delivered hard news, sat beside bedsides, explained scan results, and offered hope when we could. We’ve been the calm in t…
The role of contingency management in addiction treatment
Before leaving office, the Biden administration increased the annual cap for Medicaid-reimbursed contingency management (an evidence-based psychosocial intervention) as part of an individual’s addiction treatment. This move demonstrates what I ha…
What Avarie’s death in Rome teaches us about the gaps in food allergy education
I’ve just returned from the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Conference in Michigan, an inspiring confluence of advocacy, research, and business, all focused on one shared mission: improving the lives of those living with food allergies. I’ve be…
How moving abroad eased my allergies
A personal discovery “I used to have respiratory allergies back home, but since I moved to Málaga, they didn’t bother me anymore,” a patient answered to the usual question, “Do you have any allergies?” during a checkup in …
How early CKD diagnosis can save lives: a transplant survivor’s journey
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) often develops unnoticed, gradually impairing kidney function. Approximately 950 million people worldwide are affected by CKD, and it is now the 9th leading cause of death, projected to become the 5th leading cause in the n…
Why real therapy isn’t just about crisis
Maybe you’ve struggled to put the shattered mirror of yourself back together, and you don’t want to unearth what you’ve been able to put to rest. Plenty of people decide that psychotherapy is not for them, and we are, as our own indiv…
Beyond survival: How nerve repair is reshaping outcomes in jaw surgery
John Németh, winner of multiple Blues Music Awards, built his life and musical career as a singer and harmonica player. But X-rays taken during a routine dentist visit threatened to change that. John’s dentist discovered an ameloblastoma, a benig…
How stress affects your gut—and how to fix it
Life can feel overwhelming at times, with busy schedules, unexpected challenges, and daily pressures that never seem to slow down. While stress is a normal part of life, it can take a serious toll on your body—especially your digestive system. If you&#…
