Over coffee and the usual banter in the doctor’s lounge, a group of physicians takes a break from seeing patients after donning off their PPE. The TV is blasting the news, largely ignored, until the focus turns to the COVID-19 vaccine. The newsca…
Category: COVID-19 / coronavirus
COVID, paternalism, and the death of patient autonomy
A year ago, if you had asked me if most doctors respected their patients’ wishes, I would have answered with a resounding yes. If you had asked me if medicine had divorced its paternalistic roots when physicians trampled over ideals like patient autono…
During the pandemic, many health care workers won’t be home for Christmas
He was a healthy 36-year-old paramedic with a loving wife and an adorable little boy. Jim loved his job. The rush, the adrenaline, the blaring lights through downtown hurrying to get to the major hospital. Cardiac arrests, gunshot wounds, tragic auto a…
Why can I trust the COVID vaccine?
Many friends have asked for my perspective on the COVID vaccine. Answering this requires both an explanation of clinical trials and an understanding of what normally slows down pharmaceutical development. Importantly, COVID vaccines are required to go …
Turn 2020 into an opportunity by changing your mindset [PODCAST]
“A few months ago, I signed up for a virtual conference for women in medicine. It’s a group of women, over 10,000 of us, who have watched me and supported me through the past two years of my career. Two years of struggle. Two years of perso…
Vaccinating the entire U.S population: Health information technologies are positioned to help
The mammoth task of vaccinating most of the world’s human population against COVID-19 is before us. Several viable, highly effective vaccines have been developed at record speed. The pharmaceutical industry will now be called upon to meet the nex…
COVID-19 and The Queen’s Gambit: What will be the pandemic’s endgame?
The Queen’s Gambit, a seven-part Netflix series, has been the darling of streaming television during the coronavirus pandemic. Seen by more than 60 million people, the story chronicles the life of fictional chess prodigy Beth Harmon, who grows up in a …
As COVID worsens, don’t forget about the opioid crisis
For the past seven months, an epidemic in our country has spiraled out of control, claiming thousands of lives that could have been saved. It has been met by an inadequate, meandering national response that has often lacked urgency. It has disrupted fa…
What this medical epidemiologist learned from prior pandemic vaccination efforts
It was the fall of 2009. I was a medical epidemiologist at the largest local health department in the state of Colorado, in charge of coordinating the area’s H1N1 pandemic vaccination efforts. The CDC was distributing vaccine to state and local healt…
The unsung heroes of the pandemic
Physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists on the coronavirus pandemic frontlines have been hailed as heroes for putting their lives at risk to help others. While they may be the face of the hospital and those interacting directly with the patients…
