“There will always be suffering. It flows through life like water …” Those famous lyrics sung by Nick Cave in his Lime-Tree Arbour ring true for many of us. They take on an entirely different layer of meaning for physicians. Even the very journey…
Category: primary care
Female physicians prioritize patients over profits
Gender politics aside, let’s talk about why the way doctors get paid matters to you as a patient. Female physicians don’t just get paid less because they prioritize their families, they get paid less because they prioritize patients. In the fee-for-service model, doctors are paid per patient visit, so the more patients they see, the […]
Millennials want convenient care
The Kaiser Health News article, “Spurred By Convenience, Millennials Often Spurn The ‘Family Doctor’ Model,” caught my eye. Millennial patients want “convenience, fast service, connectivity, and price transparency” while doctors and health experts worry about “fragmented or unnecessary care, including the misuse of antibiotics” and loss of “care that is coordinated and longitudinal.” It’s as […]
When physicians order tests: a tale of 2 patients
Sometimes things go just the way you want them to, and sometimes they don’t. Compare and contrast the case of two different patients, and how things went trying to get them the care they needed. The first patient, let’s call him Mr. Smith, called up one day last week with a brand-new symptom, which after […]
The doctor inside never truly rests
People like to think the worst about doctors: We don’t listen, we don’t care, we only want your money. But, the truth is we do care, and that is why most of us answered the calling to become doctors. That is why the burnout rate for doctors is so high. Patients hate to wait in […]
When patients can’t tell you their symptoms
Today I had a followup appointment with a young adult male with severe intellectual disabilities. He is barely verbal. Several weeks ago his caregiver told me that this young man often pointed to his chest and would say “hurt” or “heart,” they weren’t sure which. He also seemed to have gotten pickier about his food, […]
A new physician experiences the opioid crisis
Seven years ago, I officially became a doctor. After years of hard work, sacrifice and insecurity, I finished my residency and passed my board certification exam in internal medicine. I was a fourth generation internist in my family and was so eager to begin my career in a new city with my fiancé. My first […]
Open your heart to your suffering
An excerpt from How to Be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers (Second Edition). Copyright 2018 by Toni Bernhard. Excerpted with permission from Wisdom Publications. The fifth way I cultivate compassion for myself is to consciously work on opening my heart to the intense emotions — and emotional swings — that […]
Thorough documentation can be weak representation of patients
I am recalling a workshop on unconscious bias from last year, the moderator hands outpatient prototype profiles to each table of participants. Ours is a glossy paper with a color photo of our patient, Jane, and a clear outline of her type of employment, hobbies, interests, family members, religious beliefs, and how she prefers to […]
Lessons from the meeting of different value-based concepts
Value remains one of the most widely invoked and variably interpreted concept in American health care delivery. Beyond patients, stakeholder groups across the health care ecosystem are undertaking value-based initiatives, including payers (e.g., value-based insurance design and payments), provider organizations (e.g., value-based care redesign), pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefits managers (e.g., value-based pricing and formularies), […]
