Category: KevinMD

An orthopedic surgeon’s guide to tennis elbow

As a sports medicine orthopaedic surgeon, I often see patients with complaints at their elbow. One of the more common diagnoses is tennis elbow, otherwise known as lateral epicondylitis. Surprisingly, most of my patients with this condition don’t even …

Want to find the best doctor? Don’t rely on price tags.

Say you want to know which baseball players provide the most value for the big dollars they’re being paid. A Google search quickly yields analytics. But suppose your primary care physician just diagnosed you with cancer. What will a search for a “high …

How telemedicine is increasing diversity in clinical trials

An important part of advancing medical research and drug development is making participation in clinical trials easier and more inclusive. To develop treatments that work on men, women, and children of all ages and different ethnicities we need to have…

All corners of the world meet in the hospital

The pediatric emergency department’s fluorescent light cast its glow on our heads, drifting and drooping, at 3 a.m. Torn between taking a chance on rest and anticipating the next fever, headache, abdominal pain, wheezing or rash that came through the d…

The consequences of celebrity endorsements in health care

“Try this,” whispers Kate Winslet as I wander past the Lancôme counter. “Your glowing skin will thank you.” The consequences of a celebrity endorsement are seemingly harmless when it comes to revamping a makeup routine, but what happens when this type …

Does a work-life balance really exist for young mothers pursuing a medical career?

As our society’s awareness of mental-health issues increases, the idea of balancing personal and professional life has become a central topic of conversation. It cannot be disputed that finding a healthy equilibrium is especially important for mothers …

The fallacy of patient-centered care

I often wonder what it was like before patient-centered care became a mainstream catchphrase. Was there a poor relationship between the patient and physician in the outpatient setting? Were hospitalized patients’ feelings, desires, goals, and therapy o…

The rent is too high in health care

Jimmy McMillan might have been right. Mr. McMillan ran for mayor of New York City as the founder and candidate of the “Rent Is Too Damn High” Party. And while he was talking about real estate rent, he might have made a similar complaint about health ca…

Kidney disease patients deserve better, and so do their doctors

World Kidney Day reminds us of the 850 million people globally affected by kidney diseases. It draws attention to the 1 in 7 American adults managing Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and the 660,000 Americans with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). It also re…

How Tom Brady and Lebron James can change your patients’ health

As medical professionals, one of the most challenging things to do is to motivate a patient to make changes in their lives. We passionately want the best for our patients, and it is sometimes so difficult for us to be able to connect with and inspire t…