Category: Public Health & Policy

My battle against the nurse’s cap

Florence Nightingale was among the first nurses who started wearing a nurse’s cap. The cap was derived by nuns and represented those caring for the sick. Hair was neatly tightened into a bun and covered by the cap. Back then becoming a nurse was typica…

The true cost of being uninsured in America

In a New York Post article dated January 23, 2019, the author states how Americans without health care insurance hit 13.7 percent. This 2.8 percent increase means an additional seven-million Americans lack health coverage as noted by the Gallup survey …

Practice at the top of your license: What does that really mean?

A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. Much has been discussed in recent years around the concept of “practicing at the top of your license.”  But what does this really mean? The most common definition is that e…

A fellow physician to Governor Northam: You must resign

Governor Ralph Northam is my governor. I voted for this man. I shook his hand. He works across the street from me. He fights to end the opioid epidemic. He fights for women’s rights. He expanded Medicaid in Virginia. He has enacted programs that will c…

Why would any woman discourage a man’s advocacy or support?

A male interventional radiologist who is active in the #HeForShe campaign recently told me that he is being pressured to stop advocating for women. My first instinct was the biggest sigh and eyeroll of my life followed by thoughts of locker room peer p…

How one insurer’s mistake wrecked a practice’s quality score

To do the math right, you have to get your numerator and denominator correct, or else things just don’t work. Recently, in the midst of a large patient safety and quality improvement project trying to bridge gaps in breast cancer screening among …

Imagine viewing health care from space

Instead of driving on the highway, let’s imagine you drove upwards from wherever you are. You’ll reach space in about an hour. On your way up, you’ll begin to see everything differently. Cities, roads, and trees slowly blur out to make way for a new ki…

Quality is more than documentation designed to meet billing and data metrics

As I walk into the well-upholstered elevator lobby of the hospital and make my way toward the stairs for another night of covering the ICU, I am again inundated with plaques, advertisements and a six-foot-tall cardboard cutout depicting an executive in…

What advocacy means to this physician

Patients first Patient care brings me enormous satisfaction. Nearly 40 years ago, when I chose medicine as a career, this was a driving force. Within moments of patients coming into my office, they often share aspects of their life history known only t…

What advocacy means to this physician

Patients first Patient care brings me enormous satisfaction. Nearly 40 years ago, when I chose medicine as a career, this was a driving force. Within moments of patients coming into my office, they often share aspects of their life history known only t…