“Sitting in front of my laptop with both of us on the screen, I can maintain decent eye contact even if I look something up or type something into the medical record. The patient sees me as paying more attention than when I couldn’t effectively b…
Category: primary care
A physician learns from the lessons of running
Slow. Sluggish. Feet dragging. Legs heavy. The run was not the effortless morning wake-up I had envisioned when I sat on front steps tying the shoes. The gazelle I had envisioned, gently bouncing over the trails, had turned into more of a hippo waddlin…
10 telemedicine billing questions and answers that are relevant right now
This article is sponsored by Medici. Telemedicine has increased exponentially since the rise of COVID-19. It reduces COVID-19 exposure risk for both patients and providers. In many ways, telehealth has become an essential service for physicians and oth…
There’s a code for pain, but what’s the code for suffering?
Opiates relieve pain and can transport people to their apparent happy place. So does marijuana. Lyrica, the seizure-turned-pain medication, caused enough of a buzz in early study participants that it became a controlled substance. The anesthetic ketam…
An unintended consequence of COVID universal masking
Spring 2020 has brought a disproportionate amount of grief for many of us. The losses include mortal ones, such as the death of a loved one, a colleague, or a patient. We’ve lost productivity, opportunities, and income. We’ve also lost freedoms, from t…
A physician and her COVID-free island
I am a physician that was placed in a unique position. I was hired as a private contractor to work for three months in a remote medical setting on Wake Island. Wake Island is a remote island approximately 2000 miles west of Hawaii, with a population o…
The economics of primary care in a COVID-19 world
Much has been written about the response of the governmental agencies in the foreseeability of COVID-19 spread and management in the United States. Travel restriction from mainland China seemed to be a very timely intervention. However, instead of cons…
How MOC is contributing to the demise of physicians
Let me start by saying that I am a diplomate (i.e., “board-certified”) by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. I was completely in agreement that to display competence in my specialty after four years of residency, I should pass …
Primary care isn’t broken. It needs a better support system.
Primary care is at the heart of each and every health care system. Effective and efficient primary care leads to positive health outcomes across the board, most notably lower rates of mortality and hospitalization, and higher life expectancy. But to ac…
The COVID-19 pandemic is a catalyst for reimagining future health care delivery
Coronavirus has overwhelmed hospitals, staff, and supply chains, stripped many Americans of health care coverage along with their jobs, and affected billions of people worldwide with mounting fatalities. Despite its massive human toll, the pandemic off…
