We pay more than any other nation for health care, yet we have suffered the single biggest decline in life expectancy since WWII. Something went wrong. At a time of record inflation and rising taxes, isn’t it time we stopped to ask where the mone…
Category: Public Health & Policy
Next of kin in the medical decision making process
Four years ago, as chairman of the hospital ethics committee, I was asked to convene an emergency meeting brought by a distraught family as medical decisions had to be made for their ill loved one. The hospital, HMO lawyers, the family, three adult chi…
My motherland is burning, but patient care can’t wait
My relationship with my cultural identity has always been a complicated one. As many children of immigrants can relate, I often felt disconnected from my parents’ country of origin in an attempt to assimilate to American life. I was born in Manha…
What physicians can do in Ukraine [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “You can talk about Ukraine and the courage of the Ukrainian people as you talk to colleagues and patients and as you talk to family and friends in your community. The U.S. may be div…
America is a magnet for global STEM talent
This essay is inspired in part by my recent encounter with a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). For starters, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration — or NASA for short — is an agency of the U.S. government responsibl…
I went to Ukraine to help. Here’s what you can do.
I went to Poland and Ukraine in April and May of 2022, hoping to support the Ukrainian people in their defense of their country and democracy itself. Vladimir Putin had put the world in a vise. “Let me do what I want, or you will risk nuclear war…
What does it mean to truly be an ally?
The University of Utah Physician Assistant Students Supporting Equity and Diversity (PASSED) group believes it’s important to discuss what it truly means to be an ally. This term has recently become more popular; however, it seems that “all…
Exploring the critical gaps in Canada’s health workforce planning [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “We need to stop simply clapping our hands in support of health workers — and start planning to create better workforce conditions for them. Let’s make improved health workforce scie…
Public health requires collective courage [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “To create a healthier, more just, and more equitable world, we must confront the truth, and that requires an act of collective courage. Perhaps there needs to be a whole new consciou…
Insurance companies deny medical care. And that’s wrong. [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! “Securing prior authorizations is a daily ordeal for most doctors’ offices. Doctors report that, on average, they must get insurance company approvals 41 times every week. Of the auth…
