I was cleaning out the top shelf of my closet — a location where, hypothetically, treasures can be found. I came upon something that was wrapped in a nondescript brown paper bag that smelled oddly of mothballs. I cautiously reached inside and found an …
Language matters. The use of the word “provider” may seem innocuous, but it is significant both for patients and physicians. For patients, it has been perhaps the most pronounced step — if not leap — away from transparency. (Who is who? Nur…
Your bed could be watching you. OK, so not with a camera. But if you have any of a variety of “smart beds,” mattress pads or sleep apps, it knows when you go to sleep. It knows when you toss and turn. It may even be able to tell when you’re having sex….
Like many primary care physicians in this health care marketplace, I found myself operating on a hamster wheel of volume care, seeing more and more patients and spending less and less time with them. The pressure on my practice, my patients and my sta…
Two recent patient experiences prompted this post. In the Wall Street Journal, Dana Hawkins-Simons described several years of being seen by specialist after specialist for her complaints of tiredness, dizziness, ringing in the ears, palpitations, short…
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. When talking with patients – particularly those with multiple, complicated medical issues – it often doesn’t take very long to hear about their increasingly sub…
One little thing. Somehow, with the changeover to the latest release of our electronic medical record, something happened to some of the demographic information on our patients. Suddenly, an enormous number of patients were now labeled as choosing not …
No, vaccines do not cause autism. No, vaccines do not cause cancer. No, vaccines are not toxic. No, getting the disease is not safer than vaccination. Yes, they are safe. Yes, they are effective. As a pediatrician, I spend countless hours each week tal…
No, vaccines do not cause autism. No, vaccines do not cause cancer. No, vaccines are not toxic. No, getting the disease is not safer than vaccination. Yes, they are safe. Yes, they are effective. As a pediatrician, I spend countless hours each week tal…
Most Saturdays, I join a therapy session down the hall from where I do my walk-in clinic. A patient of mine has a weekly session just before the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at noon in our big conference room. Last weekend he told my behavioral health …
