Category: KevinMD

More worried about the coronavirus than the seasonal flu? Here’s why you should be.

The spread of the new coronavirus, which has infected over 80,000 people worldwide and resulted in the death of more than 3,000, has raised alarms around the world. At the same time, the seasonal influenza, known as the flu, causes severe illness in be…

The alarming risk of COVID-19 in nursing homes

An outbreak of coronavirus disease in a nursing home near Seattle is prompting urgent calls for precautionary tactics at America’s elder care facilities, where residents are at heightened risk of serious complications from the illness because of the du…

How many people have coronavirus? We don’t really know.

It has been nearly three months since the first cases of a new coronavirus pneumonia appeared in Wuhan, China, and it is now a global outbreak. And yet, despite nearly 90,000 infections worldwide (most of them in China), the world still doesn’t have a …

Why does Generation Z require so many workplace accommodations?

Recently the Wall Street Journal reported on how many young people are now seeking “accommodations” at work for their anxiety, PTSD, depression, and other mental conditions. The article provoked a lively discussion split largely on age line…

Empathy is a crucial component when working with older adults

An excerpt from Tough Decisions In Care Of Elderly Loved Ones (A guide for caregivers). Empathy is more than just loving an elderly loved one. It is more than simply making the decision we may feel is best for our loved one. Empathy is different from s…

When physician leaders get acquired and squeezed

As a child, when I first read The Little Prince and saw the picture of the boa constrictor swallowing an elephant, I would often ponder what it felt like to be the elephant. Later in seventh-grade science class, when I learned of amoebae and how they s…

During the coronarvirus outbreak: A failure to recognize physicians’ worth

Recently, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, D-California, questioned HHS Secretary Alex Azar about improper preparation of health care workers before and during their interactions with Americans repatriated from Wuhan, China. A whistleblower reported to the Cal…

During the coronarvirus outbreak: A failure to recognize physicians’ worth

Recently, Congressman Jimmy Gomez, D-California, questioned HHS Secretary Alex Azar about improper preparation of health care workers before and during their interactions with Americans repatriated from Wuhan, China. A whistleblower reported to the Cal…

IT deficits are eating hospital profits. CEOs need to wake up.

I work for a hospital network with the world’s slowest computers.  I timed it: Last shift, it took me fifteen minutes to log on. The first computer obtained didn’t function at all.  It had been worked on the day before by information techno…

How 5-year-olds brought out the joy of learning in medical students

Last week, Lais and Yuri, our five-year-old twins, were volunteers at the school of medicine, for students to learn how to examine children. Full disclosure: Volunteers do get a gift card. Therefore, I asked them if they wanted to “work and get s…