My maternal grandmother, Susana, was one of the most important women in my life. I was named after her. At least, that is what I thought for many years. I had gone by my grandmother’s name until I transferred high schools in the suburbs of Chicag…
Category: Public Health & Policy
Doctors and the 5 stages of grief
Thanks to the marvels of medicine, newly vaccinated Americans are returning to life as normal and partying like it’s 2019. Doctors, who are emerging from the pandemic as national heroes, would like to turn back the clock even further—to the halcyon day…
Anti-Asian racism and how bystander intervention training can save a life [PODCAST]
“Doctors undergo mandatory training sessions in medical school to prepare for unexpected medical emergencies. Health care workers are mandated reporters who have to undergo specific training for the purpose of identifying child and elder abuse or…
Diagnosis: malformation of a health care system
In recent years, we have seen a magnificent increase in the accuracy of medical diagnoses. As the most compelling example, l propose the diagnosis provided by our country’s top clinicians with regard to what ails our health care system. Seasoned vetera…
A physician shares images of humanity
An excerpt from The Bonds We Share: Images of Humanity, 40 Years Around the Globe. A young girl decorated for the Jaisalmer camel festival. The Jaisalmer Desert Festival is an annual event that takes place in February in the beautiful city of Jaisalmer…
Is health care a right or privilege? The economic consequences of that answer. [PODCAST]
“American medicine is facing an identity crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed attention to socioeconomic health disparities and turned up the heat on the question of whether health care is a right or a privilege. The financial strain on …
We’ve had a single-payer health system all along
It’s one of the largest integrated health care systems in the United States. It takes care of over nine million patients in 170 hospitals within nearly every state. Its patients are on average, older, sicker, and more disadvantaged than the rest of the…
The unfair blame on primary care physicians
When plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Pearl published his Los Angeles Times op-ed, “How Doctor Culture Sinks U.S. Healthcare,” a polemic essay critical of primary care physicians like me, he set off a firestorm. While he made some valid points, Dr. Pearl als…
Behavioral health providers face challenges in value-based care
Value-based care (VBC) continues to be a popular expression across the health care landscape, but the challenges and opportunities it offers are quite different across specialties. Behavioral health (BH) providers are an important case in point. The op…
People with addiction belong in clinics — not jails
“Doc, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe I’m here right now.” Though in his mid-60s, my patient had the wide-eyed bewilderment more familiar of a child. He was late for our first visit together — but he was there and agai…
