Videos

Jan. 6, 2022

Is direct primary care the answer to insurance-based problems?

"Virtually everyone understands the importance of major medical insurance as it relates to unexpected high-dollar care for severe injuries and significant medical conditions, but the value equation for health insurance is quite different when applied to coverage for primary care services. The full potential cost for primary care services is…

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Jan. 6, 2022

How MRI-guided radiation therapy is changing the paradigm in pancreatic cancer

"The data are remarkable and promising, though beyond the numbers is a bigger picture. Each data point represents a life – a mother, uncle, grandparent, loved one, friend. Technological advances in image guidance and therapeutic delivery are allowing us to extend life – and quality of life – for patients…

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Jan. 4, 2022

Hello, health care organization leader, are you listening?

"Physicians, nurses, advanced practice providers, medical assistants, and other health care workers are a finite resource. They don’t grow on trees. And, though we all seem to deny it, they are human. The physicians I coach often wonder what they are doing wrong that their lives feel impossible. They are…

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Jan. 4, 2022

Clearing the air our kids share: a prescription for healthy schools

"Six air changes per hour and HEPA grade filtration of indoor air for our children is an investment in their futures for long beyond when the COVID-19 pandemic fades from view. We know there is poor indoor air quality in multiple schools, from inadequate ventilation to air pollution to wildfire…

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Jan. 1, 2022

With Lynch Syndrome, knowledge alone isn’t power

"I imagine I would have, as I’m sure so many others do, headed to the Internet, reading both accurate and inaccurate information. While much of my visit with my genetic counselor feels like a blur, I left that meeting with a list of answered questions, referrals to specialists, contact information…

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Jan. 1, 2022

I wish it didn’t require a cancer diagnosis to trust me

"The medical profession hasn’t changed. Our credibility hasn’t changed. Our commitment to care for you – to adore you, to grieve your diagnosis and what it means for you and your family – hasn’t changed. Our advice hasn’t changed. I’m grateful for your trust in me. I wish it didn’t…

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Dec. 26, 2021

Unsolicited advice from unmatched residency applicants

"When you enter medical school, you put your trust into an unspoken promise: Work hard, pass all your classes, and you’ll come out as a doctor after four years. While mostly true, this perception doesn’t take into account the residency application process and the possibility of graduating without a position…

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Dec. 26, 2021

Being naked with other doctors is a profound experience

"I am sitting in hot springs deep in the dark and crisp air woods – naked. It has been a day of lectures and workshops at a retreat with my fellow physicians. We are all naked in the effervescent, warm bubbles of the springs. In the dark, I can recognize…

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Dec. 26, 2021

I will keep my advocacy sword polished and ready

"I recognize that finding time for staff training and making sure the training is effectively practiced are challenges in a busy clinical setting. But taking care of patients means that both goals must be met to ensure safety, quality, and best possible clinical outcomes. As one who speaks and writes…

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Dec. 26, 2021

You are what you click: Transform your social media experience

"Confidence and humility are strongly related, but one arises when we focus on self, and the other arises when we focus on others. However, each attribute can become unhealthy when it becomes too extreme, or when we lose the perspective of the other attribute. In the case of confidence, we…

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Dec. 17, 2021

Trevor Bedford on Omicron and what about COVID keeps him up at night

Welcome to an expedited episode of The Podcast by KevinMD. Trevor Bedford is a computational biologist and infectious disease scientist, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He was selected as a recipient of the 2021 MacArthur Fellowship and can be reached on Twitter @trvrb. Hosted by Kevin Pho, MD, The Podcast…

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Dec. 13, 2021

How writing fiction can free physicians

"Physicians can find — or start — writing workshops at medical conferences, or just about anywhere else, at any time. These workshops can become part of wellness or burnout-prevention events. To interact with other writers, all you need is a champion―someone to organize a time and space for you to…

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Dec. 13, 2021

Climate change through the lens of an emergency physician

"The worst part of the climate crisis is that our kids, my kids, may never get to witness the most beautiful parts of our world because they may, and will, cease to exist without our action and power. As I watch my own kids looking out over the ocean on…

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Dec. 13, 2021

Why storytelling is critical in medicine

"I love stories, either told, written, or listened to. Songs tell stories, as does art. Blogs such as the rich content open so many doors for rich conversations. Telling stories is part of who I am. My father loved to tell them, as did my grandfather, whose name I took.…

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Dec. 13, 2021

A shift from the medical perspective of disability to a mother’s perspective

"In the months just prior to the infantile spasms, as Josephine’s mind had begun to develop and grow, so, finally, had my love for her. My lack of affection for her up until that point had troubled me, and it was with relief that I had realized I was beginning…

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Dec. 13, 2021

Medical debt is the enemy of everyone

"Medical debt is the mortal enemy of the patient, the physician, the hospital, the community, the state, and the nation. When we think of others’ debts, we tend to think such debts are their personal responsibility. If they’re unable to pay the debt, it’s their problem. (We make it a…

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Dec. 13, 2021

Protein calorie malnutrition is devastating for patients

"My practice consisted of patients who suffered from serious injuries and illnesses. Concerning the latter, a significant number had cancer, especially breast cancer. The issue all patient groups have in common to a certain degree is protein calorie malnutrition (PCM). The most dramatically affected are those stricken with a malignancy.…

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Dec. 13, 2021

How digital therapeutics can improve behavioral health

"To better meet the needs of patients, providers can improve access to treatment and offer more immediate solutions through the use of prescription digital therapeutics (PDTs). With technology, providers can now deliver programming aligned with proven mental health treatment methods, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, and connect teens and young adults…

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Dec. 8, 2021

Women physicians with infertility

"Many of us suffer in silence for myriad reasons. Being a physician with infertility presents a perfect storm of stress, anxiety, guilt, and shame – all of which we know don’t contribute to managing any medical problem. Consider what it’s like to undergo a typical cycle of in vitro fertilization.…

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Dec. 8, 2021

Listening to patients with our eyes

"Patients communicate immense amounts of information through body language. The primary understood, universal body language is choking. Anywhere in the world you go, if someone is choking, they use both hands to grab their throats. No matter what country you are in or what language is spoken, you can recognize…

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Dec. 8, 2021

Innovation insight and poetry from a physician-technologist

"Medicine is not a business You fools. Healing is your blueprint, activated to complete itself. A doctor does not broker it, The best anyone can do is align you With what you should be, And stay out of the way. (Like a teenager setting off an illegal firecracker.) Mostly, you…

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Dec. 8, 2021

Don’t let the holidays sabotage your weight loss goals

"The holiday season is rapidly approaching, and it is not uncommon for us to gain up to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day. But what if we do not want to put on some insulation? What can we do? I specialize in medical weight loss, and my first recommendation…

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Dec. 5, 2021

How this pediatrician handles a distorted concept of reality

"The victims of this now distorted concept of liberty are ones that we physicians encounter every day. The one that inspired this essay for me is an 11-year-old boy that I saw three weeks ago. He is a patient of mine in my pediatric practice who came to see me…

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Dec. 5, 2021

Changes in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness waiver and its impact on physicians

"The U.S. Department of Education recently announced some major changes to the rules and qualifications around the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. Now, for a limited period of time, borrowers may receive credit for past payments made on loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. The good news…

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