Health insurers are ignoring price transparency rules at the expense of private practice

Policy
May 17, 2024

Since January 1, 2023, the Transparency in Coverage Rule required health insurance providers and health insurers to provide price information to participants in a publicly accessible place. This means consumers should, in theory, be able to go to any payer’s website and see what different doctors, hospitals, and health systems are charging for the same services. The law was meant to allow consumers the ability to shop for health care …

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Pain management realities [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 16, 2024
YouTube video

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Join L. Joseph Parker, a research physician, as we delve into the biases and challenges faced by health care professionals in diagnosing and treating chronic pain, particularly in marginalized communities. Joseph sheds light …

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TV medical school: where doctors don’t need nurses and bullets heal themselves

Physician
May 16, 2024

Clearly, four years of college, four years of medical school, and three years of pediatric residency weren’t a complete medical education. There are so many things I didn’t know until I started watching action-packed TV shows, especially the ones with SWAT teams, detectives, and lots of blood.

My training was clearly deficient in neck jabbing. You know, when the bad guys sneak up on the good guy, jab him randomly in …

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Generation Z and implications for medical education

Education
May 16, 2024

Many Baby Boomers have been quick to point out that 2024 is not 1968. When students occupied buildings at Columbia University 56 years ago, at least their objectives were clear – to put an end to the Vietnam War. Do students today who have camped out at Columbia, and a multitude of universities across the U.S. and disrupted graduation ceremonies want to end the war between Israel and Hamas, …

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Big pharma ignores low-cost migraine solution

Meds
May 16, 2024

If you are a fan of pharma, you might want to skip this article. Some pharma enthusiasts will call it a rant. By pharma, I mean avaricious pharmaceutical (a pleonasm) companies collectively. On the other hand, those of you who treat acute migraines will learn of a highly effective, innovative, inexpensive, and relatively safe way to help many of your migraineurs. Those of you who believe that pharma is interested …

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Physician well-being in a corporatized health care system [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 15, 2024
YouTube video

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Join Wendy Dean, a psychiatrist with expertise in physician well-being and the intersection of medicine and corporate interests. Wendy shares insights into the challenges physicians face when their values clash with the corporate …

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Shifting gears: Navigating identity and role changes throughout a physician’s career

Physician
May 15, 2024

Physicians dedicate their lives to healing others, often at the expense of their own well-being. This intense focus on professional success can, over time, become a kind of addiction. As physicians progress through different stages of their careers, it becomes crucial to adapt and redefine their professional identity beyond the confines of clinical practice.

The evolving roles of physicians

The concept of a physician’s role is dynamic and ever-evolving. Early career stages …

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The hidden dangers of mislabeling pain patients: a medical crisis

Physician
May 15, 2024

I am very concerned about the mislabeling of patients who suffer from pain that is being carried out in a wholesale fashion by some in the American medical community. This mislabeling is the result of the most dangerous combination in the world: good intentions and avarice. These two have recently combined to create distortions that are now to the point of wholesale fraud. Calling something what it is not can …

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More than a doctor: My unexpected path to building a thriving business

Physician
May 15, 2024

When I was younger, I could not remember a time I wanted to be anything other than a doctor, and I thought this would satisfy all I wanted in my work life. Many years later, I realized I was yearning for a side gig. Based on the existence of more than 110,000 members in a related Facebook group, I wasn’t alone. A side gig can increase life satisfaction by heightening …

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AI to the rescue: a game-changer for physician burnout?

Tech
May 15, 2024

If you’re a physician reading this, the concept of burnout likely needs no introduction. The harsh realities of our profession—long hours, extreme stress, mounting paperwork—have taken an immense toll on clinicians across every specialty. Everywhere you look, it seems there’s another survey about the escalating number of physicians who self-identify as burning out.

I don’t need to cite statistics to convey the impacts—most of us have experienced them firsthand: emotional exhaustion, …

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Finding my calling: a surgeon’s path through medical school

Physician
May 15, 2024

September 1974. I was a third-year medical student at NYU. My husband and I, newlyweds, lived in a single room in the med student dorm. Fortunately, third-year students took night calls, so on those nights, my husband had the single pull-out bed all to himself.

If family medicine and emergency medicine existed as defined specialties at that time, our med school didn’t acknowledge them. Seven years later, as a chief resident, …

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Takeaways from my first year as an attending physician [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 14, 2024
YouTube video

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Join obstetrician-gynecologist Roshni D. Patel for an engaging discussion on navigating the challenges of the medical field. With firsthand experiences, Roshni shares valuable insights on overcoming underestimation, persistently advocating for what you need …

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Once a pillar, now in ruins: the state of primary care

Physician
May 14, 2024

Primary care outpatient general internal medicine is dead. Following a lengthy decline over years of languishing, it finally succumbed to terminal underappreciation and fiscal neglect. We shall never see the likes of it again. As with most good things taken for granted, it won’t be missed until it is far too late and the extinction is complete.

Our current health care system has morphed into a bloated bureaucracy that has lost …

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Toxic work culture in surgery: Can it be fixed?

Physician
May 14, 2024

After destroying a light fixture in the OR and being written up for another episode of disorderly conduct, John was at the end of his wits.

His marriage, profession, and self-respect were all on the line, and in the eyes of everyone around him, he was another surgical monster.

But little did he know – none of this was his fault. (We’ll get there in a moment.)

The outburst came in a fit …

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Envisioning the future of health care with OpenAI’s GPT-4o: potential innovations under secure and unbiased conditions

Tech
May 14, 2024

Introducing OpenAI’s GPT-4o marks the start of a transformative journey in health care. Ensuring AI advancements are secure and fair, adhering to HIPAA-compliant servers, and eliminating dataset bias, GPT-4o promises future innovations in health care:

1. Advanced predictive analytics. In the future, GPT-4o could analyze vast datasets from patient histories and global health trends to predict outbreaks, potential complications, and individual patient risks with high accuracy. When combined with HIPAA-secured servers, …

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The backboard bully: the roles we see can be all the difference in who we become

Physician
May 14, 2024

In the midst of youthful basketball games and hustling for Taco Bell chalupas, lifelong lessons were learned, leading to diverging paths and, ultimately, tragic loss. We called him “The Backboard Bully.” He’d find his spot at or near the free-throw line and shoot the ball at the perfect trajectory for a bank shot. We hated him for it—that is, when we weren’t on his team. If he was your teammate, …

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Writing in medicine: a conversation with Samuel Shem [PODCAST]

Podcast
May 13, 2024
YouTube video

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In this episode, we welcome Samuel Shem, a renowned novelist, playwright, and activist. As a Rhodes Scholar and a professor of medical humanities at NYU School of Medicine, Samuel brings a unique perspective …

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Stop and listen: How listening to patients and families is ever important for optimal care

Physician
May 13, 2024

A guest column by the American Society of Anesthesiologists, exclusive to KevinMD.

We always hear about the art and science of medicine, but with our busy practices, the science stays at the forefront, while the art can get lost. Personal experiences or a special patient can help open our eyes. The …

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Autoimmune disease? You’re more likely to get heart disease. Here’s why.

Conditions
May 13, 2024

The prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke is increased in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). These are also known as IMID: immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Rheumatic IMIDs, including rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, are associated with multiple cardiovascular issues with an enhanced cardiovascular risk, including premature coronary artery disease. Lupus can also increase coronary artery disease because of the elevated chronic …

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