What do our patients really want from us? When a patient calls up to schedule an appointment, or sends us a message through the patient portal, or calls our front desk staff to leave a message, what is it that they’re looking for? I think, more t…
Category: KevinMD
The evolution of residents’ hours
It was the 24th hour of my call shift, and I was running on fumes. Despite my weariness, I could see the first rays of morning sunlight coming through the window in my patient’s room. It was then I knew I could make it to hour 30 (quitting time). It wa…
The increasingly obfuscated medical algorithms for simple problems
A physical therapist, commenting on my blog, recently shared an excellent point of view with me: As a therapist myself, I don’t know that I’d want to be betting on that differential diagnosis of tear, rupture, etc. when giving online advice. What is go…
Before you delve into your DNA, be sure to seek out a well-trained genetics team
For $199 and a tube of saliva, I found out that I have straight hair and green eyes. Mirrors have been telling me this my whole life for free. But as a genetics counselor, I wanted to learn more about the recreational home genetics tests that have been…
Is your smartphone leading to burnout?
Burnout and dealing with its symptoms has become a hot topic in the last decade. It’s a problem that has multiple contributing factors. Some of those factors are thrust upon us and are beyond our control, such as government regulations. Other factors a…
Let’s be more mindful of respecting the time of our patients
I recently attended a lunchtime session on the Choosing Wisely initiative. This public and professional awareness endeavor attempts to educate the public and health care providers about procedures that do not benefit patients, and that may ultimately c…
Being financially secure is different than being financially independent
It is official. I have left my day job and have two months off before starting my next day job thanks to being financially secure. As many of you know, the Tubb’s Fire has led to many changes in my life over the past year. We had many decisions to make…
A prayer from an emergency physician
Dear Lord Jesus, I just finished my shift in the ER. Of course, you knew that. But I was thinking about how often I’m ungrateful and irritable. I know that I complain about rules and regulations, about time-stamps and metrics and satisfaction scores …
Physicians should never leave the lane of gun violence
Anyone following the debate around gun regulation knows it is a hotly charged issue. On November 7th, doctors got dragged front and center after the NRA issued the statement: “Someone should tell self-important anti-gun doctors to stay in their lane. H…
3 reasons why we should care about the health care experience
The health care experience is so much more than a buzzword to be talked about in administrative circles. Some physicians I encounter (a minority, but still enough) really scoff when they hear this term. Responses I’ve heard from doctors include: “Hospi…
