Category: KevinMD

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…

Why do we still use CD-ROMs for radiology images?

In the United States, any person who has tried getting their own (or their patient’s) radiology images from another hospital or practice will find the practice painful. Here are several obvious reasons why the CD-ROM — briefly the darling of large data…

Is it still worth it to go to medical school?

Medicine has changed immensely over the past 40 years. Not only has the drugs, surgeries, and procedures changed, but the culture and economics of medicine have changed as well. Radiologist and blogger Xrayvsn enlisted physician finance bloggers young …