A few months back, I read about a two-year-old child with a terminal cardiac condition who has spent her life in a hospital bed attached to multiple devices that maintained her survival. At the staff’s request, the institution’s ethics comm…
Category: Public Health & Policy
Key change are needed to make the No Surprises Act work as Congress intended
Physicians prioritize patient needs above all other considerations. To advance that mission, the AMA works tirelessly to improve access to quality, affordable health coverage for everyone, which includes protecting patients from the financial harm pose…
Why health care delivery is an exceptionally different industry: board of directors and CEOs
First in a series. The business of health care delivery differs markedly from other consumer and service industries in many ways. First and foremost, the economics differ. Specifically, the payers of medical care are often different from the customers,…
The Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal: a contrasting physician opinion
Please also read the contrasting opinion article, “Doctoring during Kyle Rittenhouse’s acquittal.” The Kyle Rittenhouse acquittal. We need to know the truth: There has been much misinformation and some downright lies on social media a…
The bipartisan infrastructure deal is now law, but here’s what it forgets
In June 2021, the Biden administration announced bipartisan support for federal legislation to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act seeks to revive highway, transit, rail, and public work syste…
Monica Gandhi, MD on why hospitalizations better measure COVID’s impact [PODCAST]
Welcome to an expedited episode of The Podcast by KevinMD. Monica Gandhi is an infectious disease physician and co-author of the New York Times opinion article, “Why Hospitalizations Are Now a Better Indicator of Covid’s Impact.” Transcript…
We have an obligation to keep firearms out of the hands of children
We are saddened by another school shooting in America. Four lives were cut short, and one young man who was obviously crying out for help clearly did not get it. There are so many pieces to this puzzle to examine. So many areas where we can improve. As…
To achieve health equity, culturally relevant care must be the standard of care [PODCAST]
“Practicing culturally relevant care means we can account for the social determinants of health, barriers to access, and the emotional disconnect that results from the status quo, one-size-fits-all approach many patients have come to expect. It h…
Almost half of health care workers are not doctors and nurses Health policies must address their burnout too.
Vaccination rates are climbing, and COVID-19 cases are decreasing. While this is surely a relief to most of us, many health care workers are bracing themselves for a significant post-pandemic fallout. Far from getting a much-needed reprieve from an emo…
Why the Build Back Better Act is an investment, not a cost
The original Build Back Better Act proposed various provisions to improve Americans’ lives, including two years of free community college, child care assistance, and investments in clean energy. The steep price tag has led many to question whethe…
