Category: Public Health & Policy

Political correctness and the taboo topics in medicine

I write for several publications, and I’m always pitching to new venues.  Recently I pitched an idea to an editor.  I wanted to write about gun research from the perspective of a rural physician. In particular, I wanted to ask what might physicians say…

A disturbing study about children and guns

Children are relatively healthy overall. Although 25% of the American population is under the age of 19, only 2% of annual deaths occur in this age group. There was a time when the contributions of diseases to pediatric death rates were much higher. De…

Health care organizations have to take better care of their employees

Anybody who has even a passing interest in health and wellness knows the sobering fact that a large number of medical problems that plague society today are the result of unhealthy living habits. Conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, which are…

Health care organizations have to take better care of their employees

Anybody who has even a passing interest in health and wellness knows the sobering fact that a large number of medical problems that plague society today are the result of unhealthy living habits. Conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, which are…

The folly of using money to improve health care quality

Imagine you’re a CEO in charge of a health care organization with thousands of physicians and 19 hospitals. Overall, the quality of care delivered is good. Prices and costs are low. But there is a problem: Patients rate your service below average. Maki…

The crippling health effects of another government shutdown

At midnight on February 15th, if Republicans and Democrats don’t come to an agreement about border security funding, the American people will be facing the possibility of a third government shutdown since President Trump took office. The most recent go…

Physician suicide is an occupational health crisis

I barely remember walking out of the hospital that day. After a nearly 30-hour residency shift, I was in a bit of a daze. I trudged across the main parking lot, staring absently at the coffee-colored snow beneath my boots. I have no memory of reaching …

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…