The desire for human connection is so irrevocably and putatively a tenet of the human condition. The relationships we form with one another are quintessential in adding value to our lives and in fostering loving bonds. And the way we express this conne…
When Elvis Presley rolled up his sleeve and received the polio vaccine backstage at The Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, most Americans knew about it. At the time, the only stars hotter than rock ‘n’ roll itself were Presley, the genre’s de facto king, and Su…
This time last year, many of us were bewildered that our country and the world had been halted by a newly declared pandemic caused by a novel virus. Reports from physician colleagues on both coasts terrified me. Fast forward to June 2021, and 272 peopl…
“Machine learning is only as good as the information provided to train the machine. Models trained on partial datasets can skew toward demographics that often turned up in the data—for example, Caucasians or men over 60. There is concern that “an…
This past month, I was admitting a patient for a TIA, otherwise known as a “mini-stroke,” whose symptoms resolved by the time he got to the floor. In the interest of connecting with the patient during my taking of his history and physical, I usually as…
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted our ineffective approach to the obesity epidemic in the United States. I believe COVID-19 would have claimed fewer lives if we had healthier patients and less obesity. According to the CDC, “obesity may tripl…
It’s been such an inspiring journey for The Podcast by KevinMD! I started the show one year ago, on June 1, 2020. I didn’t know what to expect, who would want to be on the show, or who would listen. Heck, I didn’t know the first thing…
In evaluating delayed or missed health care that has occurred during the pandemic, it is tempting to speak of “COVID care” vs. “non-COVID care.” However, the pandemic has disrupted health care so thoroughly that in some sense, COVID-19 has affected all…
So you’ve been vaccinated, and some of your close friends have been vaccinated, the weather is getting warmer, and you are beginning to feel like it might be safe to see a few folks in an outdoor, controlled setting. In-person. For the first time…
Former President Trump ushered in a new era of distrust in evidence, science, and medicine, culminating in a “coronavirus catastrophe,” as editorialized by Nature. Medical mistrust, of course, is not a new concept; patients navigate bias from the heal…
