Category: primary care

Who is the ideal patient?

I once attended a business coaching workshop for health care professionals. For one of the exercises, we had to draw our “ideal patient.” The instructor told us to be as specific as we could. We were encouraged to set up a full name profile, age, gende…

Rest in peace, primary care

The corporatization of medicine has destroyed primary care as a specialty. The primary care physician is supposed to be your go-to doctor, your advocate, the coordinator of your health care. Now that corporations buy out hospitals and private practices…

This physician is overwhelmed. She is not alone. [PODCAST]

“I am overwhelmed right now. I know I am not alone. I hear it in the voices of my friends, family, colleagues, patients. We are all feeling it. I am overwhelmed by this virus. There is so much to learn, so much to teach. Every day the information…

You didn’t sign up for this. You don’t have to drown in the paperwork.

This is not what I signed up for. Have you ever said this when you are rushing home 1.5 hours after the last patient left and you still haven’t finished all your charting? You grab a handful of forms to take home with you with the hopeful expectation t…

A crisis of physician intra-professional respect [PODCAST]

“What has become of medicine today? What has become of the sacred patient-physician relationship? What has become of medical offices- aren’t they supposed to be healing places? Who goes to a medical clinic (no matter how Big the Name) to be insul…

How to avoid 5 common mistakes that can lead to large medical bills

Even if you have a great health insurance plan, you may be faced with large unexpected medical bills that can significantly impact your finances and may lead to medical debt. High deductible plans, the rising cost of care, and high-cost treatments for …

It’s time to revisit the 4 R’s of the doctor-patient relationship

“We have met the enemy in medical education, and he is us!” My paraphrase of the “philosophy of Pogo” is pertinent to today’s crop of graduating medical students. We have inserted them into the most toxic environment for learning medicine, ever. Dr. Mi…

Reconciling with medicine’s imperfect icons

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD. Most of us have iconic people in our personal and professional lives – those who are worthy of veneration and inspire and compel us to have higher expectations for ourselves.  …

What are your health goals for the coming year?

For the last three years, I have been asking my patients at their annual physical visit the following question: “What are your health goals for the coming year?” I follow up with: “What do you need to achieve them,” or “What would get in the way?” Thes…

Is there hope for COVID with home visits?

Health care has been hanging by a thread for some time — in our community and across the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed weaknesses inherent in an underfunded public health system, a monopolized hospital, and a fractured medical supply chain. At …