The number of COVID-19 cases now exceeds 378,000 worldwide. This new coronavirus, also known as SARS-CoV-2, is having unprecedented global effects. The number of deaths in Italy surpasses 6,000, and there is a lock-down in many countries. The number of…
I decided to write this note because I am grieving. I am grieving for those infected and affected by the coronavirus pandemic, of course. But the deepest grief I feel right now is for my fellow healthcare workers who I know will be going through their …
Doctors are begging the public for basic protective equipment. Us. The United States of America. Supposedly the most advanced, most privileged nation in the world. We are in a pandemic dumpster fire. There has been no centralized movement to tackle th…
It began last week in our neighborhood, between the locals, who, out for a breath of fresh air, and dutifully in line with the new social distancing rules, began to shout back and forth through the crisp March air. “Good morning! I hope you’re well!” “…
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, people across the country are grappling with the question, “What and who is essential?” Instructions to reduce non-essential activity hit differently in crisis compared to our normal mindset that our day-p…
For thousands of years, medicine was an in-person enterprise. Patients with mysterious symptoms or requiring complex interventions traveled days to obtain an expert opinion. At times, Medicine appears to be nostalgic for these days now past; as society…
The conversations we’ve had with physicians this week confirmed that the primal fight-or-flight response has kicked in as physicians across the nation recognize the COVID-19 pandemic as an imminent threat to the survival of their practices. Some are re…
These days are getting harder. Today I heard about physicians getting intubated. I heard about physicians having to make the decision to separate from their children indefinitely. I heard about health care workers who officially ran out of PPE. I heard…
I roll in my bed, unable to sleep. I listen to BBC talk about the craziness that took over the world, preoccupied with this one question. What question? It’s not: “Why, Corona?” For that, I already have more answers than I want. Scientists say that COV…
It took a 125-nanometer virus only a few weeks to move American health care from the twentieth to the twenty-first century. This had nothing to do with science or technology, and only to a small degree was it due to public interest or demand, which had…
