The baby boomers are strictly identified as being born between 1946 and 1964. The boom lasted 19 years and delivered 76 million total births. "Leading edge" boomers were between 1946 and 1955. They were the generation that were the wealthiest, most active, and most physically fit generation that had ever lived. They were special and expected to have better lives than their parents.
Well, those leading edge boomers are now middle ...
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I read the recent popular posts from Matthew Moeller (Dear lawmakers: this is what it’s like to be a doctor today) and Nick Rademacher (Lawmakers shouldn’t care about the personal hardships of doctors) with great interest. They reflect perspectives from two interesting turning points for most medical careers- medical student, and established attending physician. I’m a U.K.-based surgeon and though the healthcare systems in the UK ...
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Physician communication is the number one factor most highly correlated with the likelihood that patients will return to a hospital or medical practice. This conclusion is one that I have personally experienced and highlighted as a speaker at healthcare conferences and seminars and when consulting with fellow physicians on improving communication and building and maintaining a successful practice.
Physician communication is so important because understandably patients are anxious about their health ...
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Brought to you by MedPage Today.
1. 5 Ways Obama's Budget Would Change Medicare. President Barack Obama's fiscal 2014 budget includes a variety of what he says are "manageable" changes for Medicare's 54 million beneficiaries as well as for the hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare providers that serve them.
2. Boston Bombing: Finding Evidence in the ER. In the aftermath of Monday's ...
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A follow-up to Dear lawmakers: This is what it’s like to be a doctor today.
Thank you to everyone for the positive feedback. Over 60,000 Facebook “likes”, tweets, and newspaper requests was quite a surprise. I was especially moved by the multiple tweets from hospices, physician groups, and individuals recommending my article. This article really has hit a nerve and shed light ...
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Let's explore one of the most well-studied health behavior theories - the health belief model (HBM).
The HBM states that our health choices are a direct consequence of our perceived susceptibility to a disease, our perceived severity of a disease, and the perceived barriers that keep us from adopting better habits.
Perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, and perceived barriers are three of the main constructs from the HBM. The word "perceived" is very ...
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A psychiatric colleague once told me that the incidence of anxiety disorders went down drastically during the blitz, when London was under constant siege by German bombs in 1940-1941. I don't know whether this is true, or even how you could measure such a thing under those conditions--but it makes sense to me. The patients I saw at Massachusetts General Hospital the day after the terrorist attacks just two miles ...
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There was an article in the New York Times recently about the importance of cultivating a family narrative to instill a sense of identity, control, and resilience in children. The more children know about their family story, the better equipped they are to handle stresses that would shake their foundation. Is it possible that, in the realm of personal health and well being, the cultivation of an affirmative ...
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It all started with my sending a tweet.
Actually, that's not quite true. The way it really started was with my frail elderly patient calling me in mid-January, to tell me he thought he had a UTI. But that part of the story is not new and novel; I've often had patients contact me with similar concerns.
I did what I usually do: ordered a urinalysis (UA) and urine culture (UCx). (I ...
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On the morning that I began this post, I read in our local newspaper that Tennessee is soon expected to have a law that would permit public school teachers to offer views on climate change and evolution that are counter to orthodox doctrine on these subjects.
No, I don’t think that creationism is science and it should not be disguised as such. Global warming, or climate change, however, is more nuanced. ...
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"A comprehensive and extremely useful roadmap for doctors."
-Eric Topol, MD, author of The Creative Destruction of Medicine
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Past 6 Months
Dear lawmakers: This is what it’s like to be a doctor today
Matthew Moeller, MD | PhysicianA gun owner responds to Sandy Hook
Edwin Leap, MD | PhysicianIs Chris Christie too obese to run for president?
Jeffrey Parks, MD | PhysicianIf I’m wrong about guns, can you please explain why?
Claire McCarthy, MD | PhysicianPrimary care doctors may no longer be needed
Doug Olson, MD | PhysicianWalgreens moves into primary care, and it’s our own damn fault
Kevin Pho, MD | Kevin's Take