More physician responsibility for patient care
Medicine today is single encounter-oriented, with the patient medical record structured to support one encounter at a time, where an encounter is either a single outpatient visit or an inpatient stay....
View ArticleMy frustration pot has overflowed
I wake up feeling exhausted. This seemingly never-ending nightmare of mutating coronavirus keeps sucking the life out of me. During this past summer, we were receiving some signs of hope that COVID was...
View ArticleThat time my patient swallowed an entire bag of crack
He was the middleman — the man that took the crack cocaine from the main guy, the drug dealer and then sold it to his “clients” and kept a percentage of the money for himself and the rest to the...
View ArticleMedical errors? Sorry, not sorry.
You know that feeling you get from an insincere apology? Your stomach flip-flops. Your heart pounds. You feel irritated, disgusted even. A vague dissonance nags at you. It’s the same disorienting...
View ArticleDoes an HMO hinder the efforts of concierge doctors to address patient needs?
A man discovers an unsettling sight during a bathroom visit. It leads to a sequence of rapid medical events with laggard resolution. “Jillian Palmer” is an independent bakery chef. She shares a...
View ArticleWords often spoken, but go unheard
I want to scream out loud: “Wake up people, we’re circling the drain!” Does anyone notice the state of our country, the state of the world that we are living in? The world is torn apart by something we...
View ArticleIn a moment of crisis, I made a decision to survive
One day in a moment of crisis, I made a decision to survive. I did not ever expect to make such a decision. Just the week before, I had high hopes for a new beginning. “Are you sure you want to do...
View ArticleThe dark horse of the care team: a parent’s perspective on hospital chaplains
When you think of a hospital chaplain, what comes to mind? A bearer of bad news? An imminent turn for the worse? A symbol of death and dying? That’s what I used to think. Chaplains showed up in...
View ArticleSometimes an ounce of compassion feels like a waterfall
My husband Jeremy and I stood just inside the entrance of the NICU, between the front desk where we used to get our bright orange stickers, permitting our entry as proud parents of Reed Robinson, Room...
View ArticleWe must help patients recognize how important their opinions are
A recent article in Smithsonian Magazine lauded a man in Indonesia for removing a motorcycle tire that had been stuck around a crocodile’s neck for six years. Known by locals as buaya kalung ban, which...
View ArticleAdvocating for a sick parent by confronting physician bias
I spent the first three days sitting next to my dad’s hospital bed, watching his chest rise and fall slowly. He was asleep the majority of the time, fighting off something unknown. Anytime he moved, I...
View ArticleHow about those doctor hoppers?
Oh no, it’s a doctor hopper. You know who I’m talking about: the patients with twenty previous doctors documented in their chart. The ones who took years to be diagnosed. The ones who still have not...
View Article4 things the chronically ill wish others understood
One of the difficulties faced by those of us who are chronically ill (which includes chronic pain) is that others don’t understand what we’re going through. Our culture does a poor job of educating...
View ArticleMe is who I am
I awake each day, looking for the sunlight to brighten my life, just as you may do. I wonder who I will meet today who might have an impact on my life, just as it may be for you. I organize in my mind...
View ArticlePatient care is not a spectator sport
By definition, diagnosis is “the identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms.” Unfortunately, that is akin to saying that cooking is the process of...
View ArticleWe are warriors: doctors and patients
The passage through life is, at times, exciting, stressful, and confusing. Like being on a roller coaster ride: strapped in, climbing up to the high peaks, and surging down to the valleys. It’s a ride...
View ArticleA story of a good death
Just over seven years ago, on April 22nd, my father heralded his 88th birthday with a thoracentesis to drain the fluid from his lungs. On May 3rd, less than two weeks later, he died, due to a blockage...
View ArticleDying is a selfish business
An excerpt from A Caregiver’s Love Story. Dying and introspection happening at the same time were a dual reality that I found impossible to ignore when Bill was not doing well. As Bill’s poor prognosis...
View ArticleThere’s no one to drive your patient home
There’s a particular bit of conversation I hope never to hear when my doctors are discussing surgery or testing. Not the details of the procedure. Not the possible outcome. Not the pain (and let’s be...
View ArticleAI’s role in streamlining colorectal cancer screening [PODCAST]
Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Shrujal Baxi, an oncologist passionate about AI, as we delve into how artificial intelligence is revolutionizing colorectal cancer...
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