Category: KevinMD

How to plan for an uncertain financial future

The tricky part about retirement planning is uncertainty. Uncertainty in retirement planning comes from three major sources. 1. Current and future income Doctors are fortunate in that they have very high job security. Even if you were to be let go from your current position, there will almost always be another position somewhere in the […]

Considering the recent setbacks of evidence-based medicine

For my students in 2018, it’s difficult to imagine an era when there was no such thing as evidence-based medicine (EBM). When I started medical school in 1997, though, the term had only been in use for six years, having been introduced by Dr. Gordon Guyatt at McMaster University (though EBM’s intellectual origins can be traced […]

Considering the recent setbacks of evidence-based medicine

For my students in 2018, it’s difficult to imagine an era when there was no such thing as evidence-based medicine (EBM). When I started medical school in 1997, though, the term had only been in use for six years, having been introduced by Dr. Gordon Guyatt at McMaster University (though EBM’s intellectual origins can be traced […]

Imagine yourself treating a celebrity

A few weeks ago, I was giving a day-long seminar in California on improving communication skills, optimizing the patient experience, and how this is all ultimately linked to better proven outcomes. Part of the day involved doing role plays, playing the part of doctors and patients in various difficult hypothetical scenarios. My experience of this […]

Why it’s important to give your children the talk about marriage

School is back in full swing.  The kids are packed up, scheduled and loaded with notebooks, pens, pencils, computers, and calculators.  Long lines form outside school drop-off areas.  Tired, pajama-clad parents drop off bleary-eyed children, accustomed to sleeping and playing all day, now headed off to fill their little brains with knowledge. Of course, it isn’t just the […]

Clicking checkboxes doesn’t meaningfully improve care

Earlier this week, I was pleased to learn that my practice had achieved a statistically significant increase in box clicking. In reviewing data from our accountable care organization, graphs were shown to us demonstrating improved compliance with several of the measures that they’ve instituted institution-wide for the purpose of reporting back to Medicare on how […]

How to survive a medical liability lawsuit

I do not feel that I truly survived my lawsuit. Sure, I am alive, but the emotional toll it took on me during the four years that we co-existed was tremendous. That being said, I do feel that it taught me several things that may be helpful to others. My lawsuit occurred very early in […]

When doctors behave badly: a call for civility

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. It can be as blatant as a public argument between a hospitalist and emergency medicine physician about whether a patient requires admission.  But most commonly it is more nuanced and subtle.  Such as members of one speciality “bad-mouthing” another or a subspecialist criticizing […]

What you need to know as a non-medical spouse to a surgeon

Combating loneliness as a non-medical spouse to a surgical resident is my current struggle. I do not just mean the absence of his physical self — which do not get me wrong is frustrating– but the complete absence of his mind when he gets home from a long day at the hospital. Absolutely no one […]

A patient’s open letter to aspiring physicians

As a patient who has had extensive dealings with five prestigious Manhattan medical institutions, I have taken the liberty of writing this letter from the perspective of one who has spent many long and arduous years in the underbelly of our deeply troubled health care system, and one who has seen firsthand how the doctor-patient […]