It’s Wednesday, March 6th, 2024. The day after Super Tuesday. I am sitting in the library, taking a break from writing a final paper for my health economics class, when I see a Politico article: “San Francisco’s Proposition F passed.&…
Category: KevinMD
Gene therapy’s impact on incurable illnesses
Gene therapy has been used recently to cure previously incurable diseases, including sickle cell anemia. It is a horrible disease that I have seen so many times in the ER that it haunts me at night, especially one patient. He was a sweet man with a lov…
Rethinking teen medical consent: Navigating complex health needs
Is it time to reconsider the age of medical consent for teens? This is a question I have been asking myself as my children are approaching 18. For many years, I’ve dreaded the thought of my medically challenging child turning 18 and suddenly bein…
Navigating crucial conversations in health care [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We sit down with Kim Downey, a physical therapist, and Frances Mei Hardin, an otolaryngologist, to dive into the nuances of navigating difficult discussions in the medical…
From perfunctory to profound: 4 self-evaluation questions that blew my mind
The McLaughlin 360 Evaluation: preparation (part one) Have you ever heard the expression, “The truth will set you free”? Well, it might. But before it sets you free, it’s probably going to piss you off. If you are seriously interested…
What’s love got to do with it? The emotional toll of the practice of medicine.
In medicine, we are taught to be professional and, at all times, to keep our emotions at bay. While this approach may work for some professionals, it is particularly challenging in medicine, especially in primary care. As a family physician, I have wit…
EMRs and insurance: a pediatrician’s success story
I am a pediatrician who trained in a residency program that taught us insurance companies were evil entities intent on profits over patient care. As ICD codes and CPT codes expanded, my colleagues complained that these were ways insurers could deny car…
Suspicions of medical child abuse delayed my child’s cancer diagnosis
It was November 2014. I was leaving the parking structure of my local children’s hospital when I realized, “They don’t believe us.” I didn’t know it at the time, but it would take seven more months to find the cause of my …
Cadaver heads, Botox, and an ophthalmologist turned comedian [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! Join ophthalmologist Jade Wong as she shares her firsthand experience of attending a Botox training session that took an unexpected turn when cadaver heads became the teac…
The overlooked impact of childbirth: hidden pelvic floor damage
Most women, about 60 percent of us, have a biological child. And while the birth of a child is often eagerly anticipated at the end of pregnancy, there are common concerns about the impact and process of delivery. Women worry about all kinds of things….
