Category: KevinMD

Why this physician believes in Santa Claus

As we approach Christmas, you only need to go to the nearest mall to witness the frenzied activity in preparation. People scurry around trying to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones and co-workers at the lowest prices. While gift-giving indeed …

Teach mindfulness in medical school

Mindfulness and meditation.  Meditation and mindfulness.  Allow me to elaborate. I went to medical school in the 1980s.  Nobody talked about complementary and alternative approaches to healthcare or mind-body medicine.  It wasn’t because we students th…

A case for computers at the bedside

“It should be in my chart.” I’m sure we have all heard this statement uttered with a subtle (or not so subtle) edge of frustration from our patients after asking a question such as “what medications do you take?”  I find clinicians despise this comment…

What would an optimal libertarian health care system look like?

Next in a series. In prior posts, I described my Healthcare Incentives Framework. If you haven’t read those, I recommend you check them out first to have the full context for this post. But here’s a refresher of the main points of the framework without…

Why choose a woman doctor?

Like all doctors, I’m a lousy patient. My doctor is a lovely man, but going to see him? That’s right there with weighing myself, getting a flu shot and doing my taxes, and behind celebrating Thanksgiving with the in-laws and getting a root canal. And I…

A physician’s perspective on California’s Camp Fire

Working as an emergency physician at a level 1 trauma center and as an Army reserve officer, you learn to expect the unexpected – but working as the ER doctor taking care of patients impacted by the most deadly and destructive wildfire in California hi…

A call to increase the availability of the Butrans patch

Janelle had overdosed 32 times. Fentanyl coursed through her veins as she was given naloxone (Narcan) for the 32nd time in the ER, from the police, from a bystander. She could never get off of fentanyl. It had made her feel warm and numbed her from the…

Asking physicians this one simple question may hold the answer to burnout

Many health care organizations across the country are taking leaps to address burnout. There are advisory boards formed solely to tackle the issue, access to yoga and meditation, as well as online programs and interactive workshops — just a few example…

How this physician does less in primary care and accomplishes more

So many primary care patients have several multifaceted problems these days, and the more or less unspoken expectation is that we must touch on everything in every visit. I often do the opposite. It’s not that I don’t pack a lot into each visit. I do, …

A diagnosis that creates an instant bond with others

An excerpt from With Mirth and Laughter: Finding Joy in Medicine After Cancer. I am sitting in the waiting area for the one year follow up appointment with my oncologist, Dr. Anne Blaes. Using the handy phone app, “How Long Ago,” I see it’s been eleven…