Last year, my high school aged son took an interest in healthy eating. He began examining nutrition labels and scrutinizing the foods that we routinely keep around the house and came up with a list of criticisms and suggestions — some well-founded, and others a bit extreme. At first, my wife and I were quick […]
The health care system has never been so complex as it is today. As doctors, we’ve seen the struggles that happen just trying to help patients get the medical care they need. Patients are now ladened with high deductibles and often are the victims of baseless denied coverage for diagnostic tests and medication. Insurance companies […]
“Yes, you are like that,” said my husband one night as I was lamenting criticism I had heard about myself that day. “I am?” I asked, shocked, a little hurt, and angry. “You are, “ he replied. “Everyone who knows you knows this.” Gulp. No one likes to hear criticism. Our lives are so busy, […]
Fake news is a term that’s become notorious over the last couple of years. For notorious reasons perhaps. But there’s actually another serious arena where there is inadvertently an awful lot of “fake news” on a daily basis. And that is, well you guessed it: in health care throughout our nation’s hospitals and offices! Let me […]
We have all heard of the one more year phenomena. Financially independent people, such as myself, hit the wall of fear. Although we have enough, we persist in our W-2 day job for no reason. There are many explanations for our persistence. Yet none of them adequately account for why it is so hard to shake our indentured servitude once […]
I was a little taken aback when Dr. C. changed my patient from warfarin to one of the novel anticoagulants. And one I seldom use, at that. I have only worked with her for about three years, and we seem to come from the same mold: seasoned family docs with a penchant for teaching and […]
I was a little taken aback when Dr. C. changed my patient from warfarin to one of the novel anticoagulants. And one I seldom use, at that. I have only worked with her for about three years, and we seem to come from the same mold: seasoned family docs with a penchant for teaching and […]
“If there is a physician on the plane, please press your call light!” The vast majority of doctors who have flown on airplanes have heard this, and most of us are willing, if not entirely eager, to respond. What follows is usually a far from ideal encounter with inadequate information, too much noise, a cramped […]
Many residents and fellows will contribute to a 401(k) or 403(b) over the course of their medical training. They should be commended for saving for retirement on just a resident’s income. Often, newly-minted attendings wonder what to do with these 401(k)s or 403(b)s from their training hospitals. In particular, they wonder whether they should convert […]
As more doctor pay is being tied to patient satisfaction and “outcomes,” a recent Forbes article argues that “It’s only a matter of time before physicians will see the bulk of their compensation tied to quality measures.” To prepare for this pay-for-performance apocalypse, the article cites Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) CEO Haylee Fischer-Wright, MD, […]
