Canadian physicians, like many other Canadians, generally support the country’s publicly funded health care system, which is designed to provide universal access to medical care. However, despite its strengths, there are some areas where the publ…
Category: Public Health & Policy
Against all odds: How two cities tackled the COVID-19 crisis
An excerpt from On Medicine as Colonialism. In Central Falls, Rhode Island, where I work, the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard. People who live in Central Falls, the smallest and poorest city in Rhode Island, live in densely packed houses, often eight or ten…
Why doctors must speak out on political issues impacting patients
As a physician, I was taught to remain neutral in the public eye regarding political issues. My viewpoints and opinions do not enter my work because the work is not about me but about the person sitting across from me who seeks help. As a psychiatrist …
Lessons from a civil rights icon: How to lift as we climb
Mary Eliza Church Terrell famously wrote, “And so, lifting as we climb, onward and upward we go, struggling and striving, and hoping that the buds and blossoms of our desires will burst into glorious fruition ‘ere long.” Lift as we cl…
A dentist’s journey to improving oral health for special needs patients
When I was a dental student, a 5-year-old child with special needs started coming to the clinic for dental care. I remember him as inquisitive but lacking the ability to focus or respond correctly to some verbal prompts. He would sit quietly in his mom…
A dentist’s journey to improving oral health for special needs patients
When I was a dental student, a 5-year-old child with special needs started coming to the clinic for dental care. I remember him as inquisitive but lacking the ability to focus or respond correctly to some verbal prompts. He would sit quietly in his mom…
Holding my Black son tight: a mother’s reflection
In the wake of Tyre Nichols’s murder, I find myself wanting to hold onto my Black son a little tighter. He is 7. Young enough to still be deemed cute by some, but old enough to not be given as much grace for simply “being a kid” by ot…
Patients lose when states block independent doctors
Patients win when independent doctors open shop. More choice means improved service and lower costs for everyone. Yet states often intervene to shut down health care competition. Virginia regulators blocked Maryland-based radiologist Mark Monteferrante…
The silencing of gun violence research: a decades-long campaign
Violence, in particular, firearm violence, has been a specter of American culture for decades, and its impact on public health has been shrouded in the shadows for nearly as long, thanks to political lobbying by gun manufacturers. An NPR article entitl…
How direct primary care can revolutionize health care [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! The U.S. health care system ranks poorly among high-income countries, but the direct primary care (DPC) model offers a potential solution. In this model, primary care providers are paid a c…
