Category: KevinMD

A physician volunteers with migrants. Here’s what she saw.

“At least seven children are known to have died in immigration custody since last year,” according to a NBC News report last month. I recently spent a Saturday working with amnesty-seekers that had been detained at California detention centers in the d…

Discrimination against doctors is costing us

“I want to see the doctor. Not you. I don’t like your kind. I want to see a white doctor, a man,” a patient gasping for air in an emergency room says to the dark-skinned resident assessing her vitals. “Speak slowly, I don’t understand you people,” a ma…

Can the states fix our national health care disaster?

Earlier this year, California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, promised to pursue a smörgåsbord of changes to his state’s health care system: state negotiation of drug prices, a requirement that every Californian have health insurance, more assistance to …

Can the states fix our national health care disaster?

Earlier this year, California’s new governor, Gavin Newsom, promised to pursue a smörgåsbord of changes to his state’s health care system: state negotiation of drug prices, a requirement that every Californian have health insurance, more assistance to …

How becoming a doctor can help and hurt the ability to build wealth

I recently graduated from medical school and will soon start residency. Yay! Although I’m happy with my decision to become a doctor, I can’t help but notice that there are several ways that going to medical school and becoming a physician h…

Travel during residency: perspective of a resident’s spouse

My husband and I are nearing the completion of a fifth and final year of residency. I say “we” because, as all residents know, the training years involve the entire family. As I reflect on the struggles and successes over the past five years, there are…

Medicine is the last bastion of faxes and printers

Yesterday, I went into an exam room to print out some orders for a patient who needed to get his labs done at an outside facility. Due to his insurance, he cannot get his labs drawn in our office during a scheduled appointment, but must do it at one of…

Concussion treatment centers: 5 red flags to watch for

The incidence of brain trauma has been rising in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), emergency department visits related to traumatic brain injury (TBI) increased by 53 percent in the U.S. from 2006 to 2014….

How to have an exciting death: 5 tips from a palliative care physician

We’re all gonna die. It’s a simple truth that an astounding number of people neglect to acknowledge or accept. Some people die sudden, unexpected deaths, but most eventually fall victim to chronic or terminal conditions like COPD, heart fai…

A lack of understanding for what physicians really do

I recently had the pleasure of participating in an administrative law judge (ALJ) hearing. Novitas, the Medicare administrative contractor had denied the E/M code 99291, critical care. The case was appealed to the qualified independent contractor, who …