I’d known Ellis for years — he once hired me for a social work job. Yet when I think of Ellis Ledger, I remember him best the night I encountered him outside of his apartment building. I was out late walking my dog. Ellis stopped to talk. He clea…
Category: KevinMD
Stop cutting patients off their prescribed benzodiazepines
In the wake of the opioid epidemic, benzodiazepines have been called “our other prescription drug problem” and “the next U.S. drug crisis.” Prescriptions are on the rise, with over 30 million Americans reporting benzodiazepine use in the previous year….
Is health care just legal human trafficking?
The standard business model around which our world revolves has no place in the “business” of human life, which is what the commercialized industry of health care has become. To be the most successful, businesses work to optimize profits by minimizing …
Physicians are suffering, and they need help
Burnout is a big and burgeoning problem in the United States. According to a recent Mayo Clinic report, it affects 28% of the general working population. Among physicians, however, the rate is markedly higher, ranging from 44% to 54% in most studies. M…
Physicians are suffering, and they need help
Burnout is a big and burgeoning problem in the United States. According to a recent Mayo Clinic report, it affects 28% of the general working population. Among physicians, however, the rate is markedly higher, ranging from 44% to 54% in most studies. M…
Medicine needs to buy into the idea of storytelling
The theme of the conference is the medical humanities. After Lawrence Hill’s keynote speech, the lineup of people waiting to speak with him is long. At the end of the day, I’m inspired by the lectures I attended, but disappointed that I did…
Medicine needs to buy into the idea of storytelling
The theme of the conference is the medical humanities. After Lawrence Hill’s keynote speech, the lineup of people waiting to speak with him is long. At the end of the day, I’m inspired by the lectures I attended, but disappointed that I did…
The hidden benefits of your health insurance plan can save your life
At kitchen tables everywhere, ordinary Americans have been grappling with the arcane language of deductibles and co-pays as they’ve struggled to select a health insurance plan during open enrollment season. Unfortunately, critical information that coul…
We need more awareness of food-allergic kids
When my peanut-allergic son was five, he suddenly blurted out, “Mom, don’t worry about me, if I eat a peanut by mistake and it kills me, I can just hit the redo button and get another life, like in the video game.” I became really sca…
Let’s stop trying to change what doctors do
Our organization, like most health care providers, is working hard to improve the care we provide to our patients, while also striving to improve the lives of our physicians. All too often, a narrow view of the former can create conflict with the latte…
