“The problem with health care isn’t ‘fixing’ the system. The problem is continuing to ensure that profits can be made and millions can be employed while better health care outcomes and experiences are achieved. We won’t find the solut…
Category: Public Health & Policy
Digital health equity is an emerging gap in health [PODCAST]
“The pandemic has demonstrated the value of online platforms, especially in health care – but equitable access has not matched this growth. Sadly, many Americans cannot reap the benefits of connectivity. State and federal funding sources are requ…
If businesses can mandate vaccines, they should mandate affordable health care, too
Earlier this year, Houston Methodist gave its 26,000 hospital employees an ultimatum: Get vaccinated or get a new job. It was one of the nation’s first vaccine mandates. And it was a big, multilayered risk: with legal, financial and ethical consequence…
It is time to make a dent in social determinants of health
As a doctor, it is pretty humbling to reflect on the fairly minimal impact our health care system has on individuals’ overall health. One study I find particularly intriguing shows that socioeconomic factors (e.g., education and income), and physical e…
Eradicate the disability tax, before it’s too late [PODCAST]
“Some may say that we all come into this world with our own luck, and if we end up having to endure a disability, then other people in society should not be held financially responsible. To that I say, do we not have a moral imperative to ensure …
No one is in charge of the free-for-all that is U.S. health care
During these solemn high holy days of repentance and reckoning, millions of Jews around the world beseech God to stop COVID-19 from spreading and ending lives. Although it can be soothing and reassuring to believe that the universe is governed by a su…
20 years after 9/11, we face another tragedy
As Delta numbers soar, I yearn for an escape from the daily discussions about why you should get vaccinated and why a mask is necessary, an escape from the daily worry that our six-year-old asthmatic son’s cough is just that, and not more, and when can…
What the latest IPCC report means for physicians: There is no time for climate despair
As third-year medical students, we recently stepped out of the classroom and onto the wards, eager to provide the quality care we had been working towards for the better part of the last decade. We were, however, quickly met with a stark reminder of ho…
You don’t belong here. You’re not good enough. You’re no superhero.
I’ve always had a strong sense of justice. I think that’s what attracted me most to superheroes as a child. Growing up, my favorite by far was Spider-Man. Many people think it’s because of his superpowers, but for me, it was always ab…
Asylum seekers: a snapshot from an American physician’s lens
Despite the bright pink walls of its exterior, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility stands inconspicuously, set back along a stretch of a frequently traveled road. We had come to meet Carla (identifying information changed), a detaine…
