What is life? It’s the cumulation of the daily processes all wrapped up into one, filling the void of each day. These processes coalesce hour by hour, filled with demands, expectations, current crisis, and bills to pay. Life is a full-contact spo…
Category: KevinMD
To reduce suicides, follow the data
On Kimberly Repp’s office wall is a sign in Latin: Hic locus est ubi mors gaudet succurrere vitae. This is a place where the dead delight in helping the living. For medical examiners, it’s a mission. Their job is to investigate deaths and learn from th…
Don’t underestimate the appeal of a Trump “health plan”
As the Democratic candidates for president continue to beat up each other on how best to achieve universal coverage (Medicare for all, a public option, closing the ACA’s coverage gaps), health care journalists keep wondering when President Trump will r…
It’s time for presidential candidates to debate the safety of pharmaceutical products
I watched all three presidential debates this summer with health care being a time-consuming topic for all. Universal health care and Medicare for all, with or without an option for private insurance, were debated and discussed at length. At the same t…
MKSAP: 40-year-old man with a flesh-colored lesion
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 40-year-old man is evaluated for a firm, flesh-colored lesion that has been growing on the back for several months. Foul-smelling material …
4 reasons why physicians should hire a financial advisor
I’m a big proponent of do-it-yourself investing. In the age of index funds, many investors can manage their own investments at very low cost. And fees you pay to a financial advisor could be used to invest and grow your nest egg. But that’s not to say …
The mystery illness of Kim Kardashian West
Reality star and meta-celebrity Kim Kardashian West made the rounds on the network news and talk shows last week to promote her new line of shapewear. But she also talked about the recent health scare that was revealed on the latest episode of “K…
Don’t let patient care interfere with documentation
I’m being sarcastic, of course, but that’s often how it seems some days. Those are days when I’ve been busy at patients’ bedsides all day and then struggle to get my documentation done later, typically many hours later. I jot notes to myself as I go al…
The answer to physician burnout isn’t resilience training
The answer to physician burnout is purported to be resilience training. That’s like glorifying the natural ability of frogs to tolerate gradually heating and boiling water. Unfortunately, health care today has some toxic ingredients, and physician burn…
What has emergency medicine wrought? Helplessness.
It seems that all day, every day, I care for patients who simply won’t take care of themselves. And I sometimes think that we in emergency medicine have caused more harm than we expected. Now let me first say, I also take care of those who can’t care …
