Category: KevinMD

The business lesson new doctors must unlearn

When graduating residents and fellows begin their careers as attending doctors, there is a wealth of financial advice out there. Grow into your salary slowly. Don’t buy a house right away. Get disability insurance. Plan ahead for the tax bomb tha…

9 proven ways to gain cooperation in health care without commanding

You’ve probably had this experience. You ask someone—nicely—to do something that clearly needs to be done. And they don’t. Or they nod, walk away, and nothing changes. You’re not trying to be difficult. You’re just trying to kee…

Closing the gap in respiratory care: How robotics can expand access in underserved communities

As a U.S.-licensed respiratory therapist and former ENT physician, I have seen firsthand how respiratory illnesses can devastate lives when early intervention is out of reach. From hospital wards in Moscow to respiratory units in Florida, the one const…

Model context protocol: the standard that brings AI into clinical workflow

The real limitation of clinical AI isn’t the model; it’s the context. AI can draft notes, flag interactions, and read scans. However, when it comes to understanding the patient in front of you, it’s still a matter of working in the da…

Bird flu’s deadly return: Are we flying blind into the next pandemic?

Scientists have known about bird flu (H5N1) for decades as a virus that primarily affects birds. Until suddenly, one day, it didn’t. In March 2024, H5N1 showed up somewhere very unexpected—in dairy cows in Texas (and their milk). And then, the vi…

Breaking the cycle of sacrifice: from medical martyrdom to purposeful healing [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Pediatrician and certified coach Jessie Mahoney discusses her article, “What if we stopped sacrificing ourselves to practice medicine?” She explores the pervas…

The silent toll of ICE raids on U.S. patient care

It is standard practice to start opinion pieces with a powerful anecdote that “hooks” the reader and lures them in, winning their attention by appealing to their humanity. However, this highlights the exact issue posed by the recent revocat…

“The medical board doesn’t know I exist. That’s the point.”

She whispered when she said “panic attacks.” Not because she thought I would judge her or fail to understand. But because she was a physician, and in her world, saying the wrong thing to the wrong person could cost her everything. She found…

Why does rifaximin cost 95 percent more in the U.S. than in Asia?

Rifaximin, a minimally absorbed antibiotic, has become a cornerstone therapy for several gastrointestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) and hepatic encephalopathy. Despite its established use, access to rifaximin v…

When moisturizers trigger airport bomb alarms

Explosive trace detection systems at airport checkpoints are designed to identify minute quantities of explosive materials through techniques such as ion mobility spectrometry. However, their high sensitivity comes at a cost: False-positive alarms can …