“Coffee in hand, I decided to try and collect my thoughts. I realized that a large portion of the literature we grew up reading has in many ways tried to implant this subconscious bias that contributes to gender disparities and these ideas about …
Category: Public Health & Policy
Paid parental leave is long overdue
Recently, President Biden introduced legislation that would provide federal funding for paid parental leave for all parents for up to 12 weeks. As a pediatrician and hopeful soon-to-be parent, I am ecstatic. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has…
A step forward: a way to advance the mental health of health care professionals
On April 26, 2020, the nation was shocked by the suicide of Dr. Lorna Breen, a New York City emergency physician who was recovering from COVID-19 in Virginia. Dr. Breen is one of an unknown number of health care professionals who have experienced menta…
What medical professionals can do to take climate action [PODCAST]
“As health professionals, we have the platform to enact change within our own institutions, as well as local and federal governments. We must elect leaders and officials who spearhead climate action. We must reduce the carbon footprint of healthc…
A secret for my $40,000 health care bills
On Twitter @jpegjoshua recently posted about a staggering health care bill for going to the hospital for a life-threatening condition and then receiving an outrageous statement, which reminded me of a similar story that I had. I also received a bill fo…
Health care as an uncommon good
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 hospita…
Humane health care outcomes by creating therapeutic alliances
An excerpt from Humanizing Healthcare: Hardwire Humanity into the Future of Health. Now that humanizing health care has tangible meaning, let’s see how people experience it when executed. Having committed to continuously humanizing health care, we need…
Physician morale and the doctor’s voice [PODCAST]
“It is dangerously unfortunate that the use of masks has been politicized in many parts of our nation. The Dakotas (or North and South COVID as they were recently called on Saturday Night Live) are far from exempt from this phenomenon. Likely, if…
Saving our mothers requires taking more than baby steps
During Black Maternal Health Week, the news that Illinois became the first state to extend Medicaid coverage from the former standard of 60 days postpartum to now 12 months postpartum marks a major victory for women of childbearing age, especially wome…
President Biden’s quest for a public option [PODCAST]
“COVID-19 disproportionately impacts those with pre-existing conditions, and our health care system leaves one in five Americans with a pre-existing condition uninsured. Further, with multiple COVID-19 vaccines already in early but slow distribut…
