A recent conversation with my sister inspired me to write this post. She is a physical therapist who often rants about how patients with chronic pain or chronic illness don’t work and are just on disability. I know she’s far from the only h…
Category: Conditions
Shared decision-making in health care: promise vs. reality
The American Heart Association (AHA) recently published a statement on the importance of shared decision-making (SDM) between physicians and patients. This concept, though at least 50 years old, has become popular in the last decade or so, with expecta…
Why lab-grown meat matters: USDA approval and environmental impact
In June of 2023, a release was buried in the cacophony of news stories that the USDA had approved two companies for selling lab-grown meat. This news followed the FDA’s conclusion that lab-grown meat was safe for human consumption. The two compan…
There’s no place like home when it comes to health care, except for those who fall through the cracks
Maria (name changed to protect patient privacy) is a brilliant woman with a troubled health history. After a mental health diagnosis cut short her career as a high-level government official, Maria has struggled with diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, dep…
Empowering Pakistani women: Surviving cancer and challenging traditional norms
We have a female patient admitted to our oncology ward for a week. I’ve known her for a long time. She works in our hospital’s dental department as a technologist. She is currently 40 years old. She was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2009….
Prioritizing mental health for doctors and families
In 2022, the World Health Organization released the World Mental Health Report: Transforming Mental Health for All, which recognizes the critical importance of mental health to everyone, everywhere – including doctors and their families. The cons…
Do parasites predispose to dangerous behaviors in humans?
Those of you who have followed the game or series The Last of Us will recognize the name Cordyceps. This is the fungus that causes a global pandemic of zombies to break out and start attacking their fellow humans. The writers, in this case, did a good …
Haunted by sleep: the chilling reality of hypnagogic hallucinations
“What did you see?” I asked her, as she sat across from me, wide-eyed and obviously unnerved even thinking back about the episode. “It was horrible,” she said, “just horrible. I was lying on my back, and I saw it in the do…
The surprising truth on how to avoid postpartum depression
The current popular notion is that postpartum depression (PPD) cannot be prevented. Rather, it can only be diagnosed with an Edinburgh test once the patient has PPD. Often PPD is considered to be both surprising and mysterious. In reality, it is neithe…
A people-first approach to cardiac rehabilitation
How do you change the paradigm in a rigid system? When the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in 2020, my team and I didn’t have a choice. We had built our hospital’s in-person cardiac rehabilitation program from the ground up, but this was a moment…
