During my flight from Denver to Japan, I watched a movie called Un Traductor. It is a true story directed by the children of the couple who are the main characters in the movie. The reason why I chose this movie was that there was a Brazilian actor in …
I learned a new word recently: transdiagnostic, which refers to something that is applicable across a spectrum of conditions. It seems that this is becoming an increasingly popular concept in treating anxiety disorders. No wonder. As I researched this …
Dear patients: A few things come up daily in my office that need to be addressed. I’m just going to put these out there in the blogosphere in the hopes that someday they’ll be shared widely and save myself and other doctors a whole lot of hair-pulling …
“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…
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
