In a world where, in a moment, I can order from thousands of items and have them delivered to my doorstep the same or next day at the press of a button without having to re-enter my name, address, and billing information each time, it would seem that f…
Category: KevinMD
The infiltration of venture capital and private equity in the surprise medical bills debate
As proposals to ban surprise medical bills move through Congress and state legislatures with rare bipartisan support, physician groups have emerged as the loudest opponents. Often led by doctors with the veneer of noble concern for patients, physician-…
A family’s cry: a life-changing case for the ER staff
“The death of a child is the single most traumatic event in medicine. To lose a child is to lose a piece of yourself.” I walked into work yesterday morning, and it only took seconds to appreciate the immense sorrow and sadness that permeate…
Tips for nurses from a patient who was one
I was an RN for more than 40 years and am now retired. As a recent hospital patient, I documented my experiences. This resulted in a letter to nurses everywhere. *** Dear Nurse, Please be kind to me. I am frightened, alone, and in pain. I am way out of…
If you spend more than 80 percent of your day staring at a screen, you are no longer a doctor
The use of health care information technology has increased exponentially over the last five years, and as a frontline physician, I have seen this change at close quarters. In most of the hospitals I’ve worked in up and down the East Coast, it’s been i…
How provider-in-triage systems in ERs compromise patient care
If you’ve needed emergency care in the last few years, you probably encountered this situation: Soon after entering the emergency department, you were asked to go to a triage area in the waiting room where a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician ass…
Virtual scribes are game-changers for physicians
Today was like no other day. It was our first day together. Me and my “virtual” scribe — an actual person who seems to “virtually” to exist inside of a Jabra speaker on my desk and so subtlety that I forgot to mute a few times w…
A patient predicted her tragic future
I’d been told in my hospital sign-out that Melanie was transgender, but I stumbled on the first day and referred to her as “he” in front of my medical team. “She!” she said immediately. “Oh, man,” I thought to …
Do physicians betray patient confidentiality by signing insurance contracts?
Patient confidentiality is an important principle that most physicians still respect. Patients trust physicians not to reveal their private, medical information to others. They expect that physicians will adhere to the Hippocratic ethic followed for th…
At the end of his career, a physician reflects on the House of God
I read Samuel Shem’s House of God twice — once in my late college/early med school years and another sometime during my pulmonary/critical care fellowship. The first time, I recall thinking it was drop-dead hilarious. I eagerly shared it with fri…
