There’s a pivotal scene in the 2007 Pixar movie Ratatouille, in which the restaurant critic Anton Ego takes a first bite of the movie’s titular food. He is then whisked back to a moment in his childhood, during which his mom provides love a…
Category: KevinMD
Patients with severe autism: medical and dental care in the community
The pediatrician kept on telling me that everything was fine. What could possibly be wrong? His motor skills were right on time, if not a little early. He even had emerging problem-solving skills. He did things like push a chair up to a shelf to climb…
Seeking mastery in medicine
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Regardless of specialty, medical practice is challenging in today’s health care landscape. Increasing demands related to workload and job inefficiencies, an ever-increasing…
Easing a burden, one step at a time
The afternoon that I went for a walk with Linda* for the first time was one of the moments I’ve been proudest of as a hospice volunteer, odd though that may seem. I’d first met Linda a few months prior to that, when the late fall and winter light made …
How predictive analytics help advance population health
Take 100 patients who are candidates for colorectal screening. We know that a group of them will try to avoid the procedure or postpone it for as long as possible. Evidence of this, for example, would be rescheduling appointments multiple times to late…
The tension between hospital administrators and medical residents
One of the least motivating requests I received routinely as a new intern was something like, “… and can we make sure this is a discharge before noon?” I recall a particularly eager nursing manager surveying the resident teams on her unit to gauge our …
The indignity of a cancer that takes away bowel functions
I first became John Dolan’s social worker following his colon surgery, surgery for removal of a very large cancerous tumor, the largest the experienced surgeon said he had ever seen. John was told he had about three months to live. So much for predict…
Compromise vs. greed in ending surprise medical bills
There are few things in our health care system that are more unfair than surprise medical bills. Consumers think they have good coverage and are getting treatment in their health plan network only to get a huge unexpected bill in the mail because it tu…
A physician’s favorite money quotes for the holiday season
This is one of my favorite times of the year. Thanksgiving dinner with my family, cool air that calls for cute winter clothes, and holiday festivities that invoke the spirit of love and positivity. As we embark on this season, inevitable holiday sales …
Is it more dangerous for your baby to be born at home?
The debate over the safety of giving birth at home, both for the mother and for the infant, has continued for years. I’ve written about the issue myself. From time immemorial until about 75 years ago or so, most babies were born at home. Now it’s aroun…
