Our increasing maternal mortality rate is gathering attention both nationally and internationally. The U.S. is 33rd among developed nations, and the rate is increasing. Indeed, as Neel Shah notes: Americans today are 50 percent more likely to die in th…
Recently, I received a call from an old friend. We had drifted apart over the years, but his purpose in calling wasn’t rooted in a desire to rekindle the embers of yesteryears. No. Rather, it was an explicit inquiry into whether I could assist hi…
To compliment and complement the KevinMD article “Why physicians need to write,” by Dr. Louise Aronson, I’ll share why patients, at least this patient, write. I wrote What Patients Want: Anecdotes and Advice because I had been “…
The development of COVID-19 vaccines has been an extraordinary scientific achievement in the face of a global health crisis. However, an unfortunate consequence has been the emergence of misinformed claims by non-medical individuals who assert that the…
Research reveals that most caregivers of people living with schizophrenia are family members (94 percent), and oftentimes, the journey of the caregiver can be just as challenging as that of the patient, whether they’re newly diagnosed or have bee…
An excerpt from Rearranged: An Opera Singer’s Facial Cancer And Life Transposed. In the usual post-op haze after reconstructive surgery, in a wide-open, multi-bed recovery room partitioned by wavy muslin walls, I heard one strangled sentence rise…
One in five adults in the U.S. suffers from chronic pain. We see these patients every day—but do we really hear them when they confide in us about their pain? As health care providers, no matter our discipline, we can do more to truly listen and consid…
Recently, after a week of a viral illness that I most likely picked up from one of my patients as a pediatrician, I noticed that one side of my tongue felt as though I had dental anesthesia. During the day, this slowly progressed, but as night came, th…
Firefighters and doctors stand beside you on your worst days. On our best days, we help you sidestep disaster. On our worst days, we make gruesome decisions, so you don’t have to. Andrea’s family barely survived the pandemic. Her husband lo…
How many rabbits have you seen with crooked teeth? How about bears or dogs? Why are humans the only mammals with crooked teeth? An orofacial myofunctional disorder, or OMD, describes abnormal lip, jaw, or tongue positions during rest, swallowing, or sp…
