To my wife, Let’s just start at the beginning. When we first met, you thought I was arrogant and prideful. For two and a half years we would rarely talk while we walked past each other in our small college town. At the time, we never could have imagi…
Does anyone in medicine, particularly emergency medicine, understand why we lose money? Why we have to push those metrics so hard to capture every dime? I mean, we’re constantly reminded that satisfaction scores, and time-stamps and time to door, time …
The oncologist had prescribed Xgeva hoping it would strengthen her bones while also delaying the progression of Angela Kahn’s breast cancer. But Kahn (a pseudonym) couldn’t get over the price of the drug. Before the oncologist had a chance …
“Sorry Dr. Pelzman, just one exam room today.” This is how our medical technician greeted me as I arrived for my Wednesday morning practice session earlier this week, with a full panel of patients on the schedule set to see me over the next…
“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth a life’s experience.” — Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Several years ago, an anxious senior medical student was preparing his application for The Match, the clearinghouse through which 37,000 candidates ho…
A number of media outlets recently featured a story about a Florida general surgeon who removed a normal kidney from a woman who was undergoing spine surgery. How could this have occurred? The 51-year-old patient who had been injured in a car crash was…
You need to chill out. Seriously. Doctor’s orders. Research has long established a link between anxiety and health issues as grave as cancer and heart disease. In today’s world, stressors are everywhere. But thankfully, so are the antidotes to stress. …
My medical school is located in Harrogate, Tennessee, a town of 4,000. That’s considered rural. My residency is located in Casper, Wyoming, a city of 60,000. There were some community attendings there that considered that rural. I live and practi…
I recently read an article entitled “The family said, ‘Do everything.’” It described the case of an elderly patient at the end-stage of life. The article concluded that “If your loved one has reached an end-stage of life, do the right thing. Let them d…
Physician Speaking by KevinMD is a boutique speakers bureau founded by Kevin Pho, MD. Today’s spotlight physician speaker is Dr. David Geier. David Geier, MD is a double-board certified orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charles…
