Category: KevinMD

How telemedicine intersects with AI, social media, and precision medicine

Telemedicine will eventually become a more prominent part of our clinical practice, with the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) and social media and networks, and integration with precision medicine in electronic health records. As clinician…

The problem of overdiagnosis: What can patients do?

An interesting article in the journal Pediatrics is both intriguing and sobering. It is intriguing because it lays bare something we don’t talk much about or teach our students about; it is sobering because it describes the potential harm that can come…

This patient got an estimate before surgery. The bill was so much more.

From a planning perspective, Wolfgang Balzer is the perfect health care consumer. Balzer, an engineer, knew for several years he had a hernia that would need to be repaired, but it wasn’t an emergency, so he waited until the time was right. The opportu…

Advancing women in medicine — with a whisper

Personal journal entry, September 11, 2017: Sometimes we wear womanhood like a yoke — burdensome on our shoulders, as we carry the torch for younger women coming behind. Sometimes, we swing womanhood as a sword, slicing, and jousting for survival in a …

A thank you from doctors to nurses

Earlier this year, I asked a group of nurses what gifts doctors could give that would help them know they are appreciated. There were hundreds of comments that included many I expected: Food (pizza, chocolate, cake, tacos, bourbon, Starbucks, healthy s…

Here’s what true grit looks like in health care

As a medical director and practicing physician, I count myself fortunate to meet and engage in meaningful conversations with many health care professionals throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Recently I was both humbled and inspired when I visited wi…

Is overachieving a sign of past trauma?

Ever feel like you are always on the go, not feeling comfortable slowing down? All through school, college, medical school, residency, and then practicing medicine, the one thing that I got really good at was staying busy. Planning projects, test-takin…

Is the National Institutes of Health stifling academic freedom?

An episode pitting top administrators at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) against senior scientists at the organization serves as a vital reminder of the importance of academic freedom and the need to communicate and express concerns about scien…

Sharing mental health issues on social media

Susanna Harris was sitting in her lab class for her graduate program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill when she received an email that told her she had failed what she describes as “the most important exam in grad school,” the doctoral…

Want to crush USMLE Step 1? Here are some evidence-based study tips.

Interleveling strategy Interleveling is the process of studying/learning multiple unrelated concepts across different subjects during the same study session. This can make studying appear difficult and more disjointed. However, research shows it yields…