I stood inside the door of “una chosa,” Spanish for “a hut” — the walls bamboo and sunbaked mud; a broom-swept dirt floor; two open windows partially covered by tattered cloth; no running water, no electricity. The acrid smell of smoke from the w…
Category: primary care
What it takes to be called a great doctor: a patient’s perspective
Let me begin by extending my gratitude to all physicians who have served our country during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. During this trying time, your dedication and service have given a sense of stability and confidence in our health care sy…
What is the future of telemedicine?
Now that a pandemic has brought telemedicine into Americans’ consciousness and the health care system, it is timely to ask: How will telemedicine fit into future care? Failing to understand telemedicine’s transformative capabilities is akin to mi…
If you take a pill, you are at risk: a personal reflection on health information dissemination in Black communities
As a medical and public health student quarantined at home with two physician parents and a new college graduate sibling, we can speak about the COVID-19 pandemic research, guidelines, and epidemiology around the dinner with relative ease. Everyone in …
This is what a successful health care system looks like [PODCAST]
“If we are serious about supporting the optimal health and well being of our nations’ patients and physicians, we need to start believing and implementing the science across the public and private sectors. We need to recognize that at its core, t…
We have been the precious gift of making a difference in the lives of others
“You that seek what life is in death, Now find it air that once was breath, New names unknown, old names gone: Till time end bodies, but souls none. Reader! Then make time, while you be, But steps to your eternity.” – Baron Brooke Fulke Greville,…
A physician shares stories online and is now a published author
A powerful communications medium, with the chance to get into someone else’s mind and connect through experience. Sometimes the experience is vicarious, because not everyone has lived what the storyteller has. But the storyteller’s words can have a pro…
A day in the life as a medical assistant
We all go to work in the morning, looking forward to the day. I know I have about 26 patients and about 20 other tasks to do for the day. I know that my medical assistant has about the same ( or more ), and we are ready to go. “Good morning Sophia,” I …
Clinical pearls: Addressing health care disparities for African Americans
This article is sponsored by Pri-Med. Gregory L. Hall, MD, an expert on African American health care, continues to draw interest and accolades from primary care audiences nationwide for his new CME web series, Bridging the Gap: Conversations with Dr. H…
Managing through COVID-19: a virtual doctor’s story
It was early February when I first felt the tides changing. I remember it well. I was having lunch with a friend – another doctor – and the situation in China was bleak. We agreed it was only a matter of time before the novel coronavirus would erupt in…
