Nearly three decades ago, David Hilfiker, a family medicine physician in rural Minnesota, authored an essay in the New England Journal of Medicine titled “Facing our mistakes.” In the piece, he chronicles three major medical mistakes he mad…
Category: KevinMD
Bridging the gap between public perception and reality in health care [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! In this episode, we are joined by Sarah Smithson, an internal medicine physician, as we discuss the stark disparities between the experiences within clinical settings and …
Time wasted, care hampered: How antiquated tech hurts patient engagement
As physicians, we’re trained to dig into a patient’s story to make a diagnosis. Ideally, we have time to get to know the person in front of us and get a comprehensive understanding of the reason for their visit. In an ideal world, we have t…
The fifth vital sign
An excerpt from Narrative Medicine: The Fifth Vital Sign. “If you don’t take a temperature, you can’t find a fever.” — Samuel Shem, The House of God I enrolled in a creative writing course at a local university to better underst…
Assisted suicide is the wrong prescription
America expends much time, effort, and resources when people become seriously ill, bringing many face-to-face with their own mortality. For patients and their families, it is an emotional and difficult time under the best of circumstances. As a cardiol…
To the physician who didn’t match: You are not forgotten
Match day. Many of you are rejoicing in the outcomes, while many of you might be experiencing these “other” emotions. They might sound like rejection, shame, hopelessness, despair, disappointment, anger, exhaustion, or self-doubt. The wound…
Anesthesia is not my name: Knowing each other’s name improves results in the OR
As an anesthesiologist, I recall countless occasions when colleagues from the other side of the drape addressed me, like, “Anesthesia, did the patient receive antibiotics?” or “Anesthesia, I need more muscle relaxation here!” Es…
Understanding and addressing urinary incontinence [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes! We tackle the important topic of urinary incontinence with Sarah Boyles, a urogynecologist. Join us as we explore the often overlooked but impactful effects of urinary inc…
Reducing political influence in health care: Building trust, transparency, and equity
In our hyperpolarized and political society, it seems everything has a political angle, including health care. I think that some of this conflict is unnecessarily but intentionally introduced by special interest groups to force a point, a change in pol…
Doctor charged after treating a DEA agent
As I wait for the next patient to be brought in, I start reviewing their chart. Past medical records have been received and scanned in per protocol, I see. This won’t be the first time I’ve seen his chart as he had to submit medical records…
