When I entered the field of medicine, the goal was clear; to make patients “better.” Through my hospital-based training and practice as an internal medicine physician, I developed a strong interest in illness prevention — how can we keep patients from …
Massachusetts is again experiencing a COVID-19 surge and our hospitals are overwhelmed, mostly with unvaccinated patients. As a practicing physician who takes care of many high-risk diabetic patients, I ask all my patients about their COVID-19 vaccinat…
In almost all organizations, an employee has a supervisor responsible for guiding the employee in doing their job. This requires good communication between the two. Currently, in medicine, especially during stays in the hospital, there is a similar rel…
It’s well known that coding changes drive provider behavior, and billing behavior drives provider decisions. For the last 30 years, little has changed in health insurance billing, which is why the standard of care within the payer system has rema…
Despite a national nursing shortage in the United States, over 80,000 qualified applications were not accepted at U.S. nursing schools in 2020, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. This was due primarily to a shortage of nursin…
“The worst part of the climate crisis is that our kids, my kids, may never get to witness the most beautiful parts of our world because they may, and will, cease to exist without our action and power. As I watch my own kids looking out over the o…
At this point in the COVID vaccination campaign, nearly all American adults who want the vaccine have gotten it, and are gratefully snapping up their boosters. Those who decline vaccination are largely impervious to public service announcements, commun…
Second in a series. Please read part 1 and part 2. We expect that most readers have noticed the differences we cite and have also noticed that these differences are negative, not positive differences. The big question is, why these structural and strat…
Two decades ago, high deductible health plans barely existed. Today, more than half of the U.S. workforce is on one, which are plans with deductibles greater than $1300 per individual or $2,600 for a family. It’s a growing, undiscussed problem for publ…
“Medical debt is the mortal enemy of the patient, the physician, the hospital, the community, the state, and the nation. When we think of others’ debts, we tend to think such debts are their personal responsibility. If they’re unable to pay the d…
