Pathology and laboratory medicine services play a vital role in global health care and continuously improve patient care around the world. When it comes to your medical care, you have many options, and choosing the right professional could improve your…
A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.com. I imagine every physician anesthesiologist has experienced drug or equipment shortages in the last year. How frustrating that even in the world’s largest health care…
“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” – Diane Ackerman Nathan picks up a pen from the tray next to the dry erase boards. “OK,” he s…
“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” – Diane Ackerman Nathan picks up a pen from the tray next to the dry erase boards. “OK,” he s…
“Dr. Rahman, this is the nurse in OR 12, Dr. H is doing a robotic/laparoscopic hysterectomy. He thinks he’s injured the ureter and is requesting help. Are you available?” I knew what came next was going to be complex — challenging surgically, disruptiv…
Nearly half of Canadians aged 65 and over experience osteoarthritis in their knees. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and occurs when the protective cartilage on the ends of bones wears down over time leading to pain, stiffness and de…
I had a great case the other night. Around midnight on a Friday, the hospitalist physician called me to evaluate an incarcerated femoral hernia. I thought this elderly and medically ill patient would likely die no matter what I did. I spent a grim half…
A number of media outlets recently featured a story about a Florida general surgeon who removed a normal kidney from a woman who was undergoing spine surgery. How could this have occurred? The 51-year-old patient who had been injured in a car crash was…
I recently read an article entitled “The family said, ‘Do everything.’” It described the case of an elderly patient at the end-stage of life. The article concluded that “If your loved one has reached an end-stage of life, do the right thing. Let them d…
On a recent vacation, I went out to eat at a small, out-of-the-way restaurant we always visit on our trips to the Outer Banks. There, I spotted a poster on the wall explaining why the cafe no longer uses plastic bags or plastic straws: to keep the mate…
