As an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist, I witness plenty of tragedy. But I don’t lay awake at night anymore grieving bad outcomes — that is the privilege and purview of loved ones. While family and friends may move through Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ classic stages of grief, doctors do not have that luxury. To give […]
“I remember you,” said Gracie with the look of having found a long-lost friend. “You gave my husband the option to be treated aggressively in the hospital or return home with palliative care. He chose to go home.” I hesitated to ask, “How did he do?” Gracie went on to say that her husband had […]
So out in the varied land of hospital medicine, I have noticed something that I have no clear explanation for. It turns out there is often a gap in productivity between that of NP/PA providers and physicians. The range of the gap varies wildly – I just got off the phone with a group leader […]
In a matter of less than a decade, “shared decision-making” (SDM) has emerged as the uncontested principle that must inform doctor-patient relationships everywhere. Consistently lauded by ethicists and medical academics alike, it has attracted the attention of the government which is now threatening to penalize doctors and patients who do not participate in SDM prior […]
CMS is changing note requirements, among other changes. Bob Doherty has a wonderful summary: “Medicare’s historic proposal to change how it pays physicians.” As always, we really will have a difficult time sorting out the unintended consequences of these changes, but they certainly seem like a move in the proper direction. To me the most […]
CMS is changing note requirements, among other changes. Bob Doherty has a wonderful summary: “Medicare’s historic proposal to change how it pays physicians.” As always, we really will have a difficult time sorting out the unintended consequences of these changes, but they certainly seem like a move in the proper direction. To me the most […]
I’m a creature of habit. My first activity every day is to read the New York Times. Depending on my schedule, some days I read more articles than others. This week I was away at a conference and found myself with some early morning extra time before the first meeting session, so I delved into […]
It’s peculiar, I think, that we live in a time of physician shortage and yet some things remain abundantly clear: 1. Physicians can’t work together to fight, either for their own good or the good of their patients. 2. Like hostages, or abused spouses, they just keep going back for more of whatever bad policies […]
July is upon us again: that New Year celebrated only by those in the medical field. A time when medical students begin as doctors, interns become residents, residents become fellows and, basically, everyone in every position is one year less experienced at it than the person who held that position the day before. This July […]
Dear third-year medical students, Welcome to the wards. I remember this stage — basking in the glory of completing pre-clinicals, in the excitement of finally switching heavy textbooks for living, breathing people, in the realization that medical education now lies in the hands of those I wanted to heal. I would be sleeping less, but […]
