When diagnosis becomes closure: the harm of stopping too soon

Physician
February 5, 2026

Medicine prides itself on early diagnosis and decisive treatment. We are trained to recognize patterns, apply categories, and follow pathways designed to reduce uncertainty. This approach saves lives. But there is a quiet point at which it can also cause harm.

That moment occurs when diagnosis becomes closure.

I recently spoke with a young woman in her 20s with endometriosis. She had done everything medicine asked of her: sought care, underwent surgery, …

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Celiac disease psychiatric symptoms: When anxiety is autoimmune

Conditions
February 5, 2026

In functional and integrative psychiatry, patterns start to announce themselves long before they show up in guidelines.

Over the past several months in my clinical practice, I have diagnosed celiac disease in multiple young adult men who presented not with diarrhea, abdominal pain, or weight loss, but with psychiatric and cognitive symptoms: chronic low mood, brain fog, fatigue, poor motivation, memory issues, and anxiety. Neither had prominent gastrointestinal complaints. Both had …

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Prostate cancer screening limitations: Why PSA isn’t enough

Conditions
February 5, 2026

As physicians, we spend our careers believing that if we gather enough data, follow the guidelines, and monitor closely, we can stay one step ahead of disease. We reassure patients that early detection saves lives. We quote statistics, interpret lab values, and project confidence. Nothing dismantles that illusion of control quite like becoming a patient.

I have written before about my prostate cancer journey, before the surgery, after the surgery, and …

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From flight surgeon to investor: a doctor’s guide to financial freedom

Physician
February 5, 2026

In a valuable episode of the Wealth Planning for the Modern Physician podcast, host David Mandell, JD, MBA, sat down with Dr. David Yanoff, an orthopedic surgeon with a career spanning the Air Force, private practice across several states, and innovative financial ventures. Dr. Yanoff shared insights from his diverse medical journey, his entrepreneurial approach to finance, and strategies for transitioning smoothly into retirement, valuable lessons for any physician navigating …

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Why perimenopause feels like losing yourself

Conditions
February 5, 2026

Many women entering perimenopause struggle to put words to what they are experiencing. They often say, “I don’t feel like myself anymore,” even when they can’t identify a single symptom that feels concrete or diagnosable. Emotionally, something feels different. Physically, their bodies feel unfamiliar, more aches, more pains, weight changes, or a sense that it’s harder to “get back on track.” Cognitively, many notice brain fog or a lack of …

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The surgical safety checklist: Why silence is the real enemy

Physician
February 5, 2026

There is a moment in the operating room so brief it almost disappears.

Names are spoken. Roles clarified. A question offered into the air: Does anyone see something we don’t?

For a heartbeat, hierarchy loosens. For a breath, the room remembers it is made of humans. That is the moment the checklist was built for. Not because surgeons forget steps, but because under pressure, even the best of us forget how to …

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Tort reform medical malpractice: Why current laws fail

Physician
February 5, 2026

Tort reforms for medical malpractice preoccupy much of the legislative agenda for any state legislature as well as much of the time and budget of a state’s medical society. However, in truth, state legislators and the administrators of medical societies only care when it is to their advantage.

Because I am a physician in Maryland, I use Maryland as the example. In most states, tort reforms achieve six goals:

Remote second opinions bridge the gap in rural cancer survival [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 4, 2026
YouTube video

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Practicing oncologist, adjunct professor at Duke University, and chief medical officer at AccessHope Yousuf Zafar discusses his article “Remote second opinions for equitable cancer care.” Yousuf explains how a patient’s zip code …

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High-protein diet risks: Why more isn’t always better

Conditions
February 4, 2026

Over the past decade, nutrition culture has increasingly revolved around a single macronutrient: protein. Popular media, fitness culture, and everyday health conversations often frame higher protein intake as a universal good, synonymous with strength, longevity, and metabolic health. In the process, many foods that once formed the foundation of balanced eating (whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and healthy fats) are quietly sidelined or dismissed.

Protein is essential. That point is not in …

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Breaking the silence: mental health and racism in medical school

Physician
February 4, 2026

An excerpt from Physicians With Lived Experience: How Their Stories Offer Clinical Guidance (APA Publishing, 2025)

“I am a Black gay man from Detroit,” spoke Chris Veal mid-way into a podcast when he was a fourth-year medical student at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine. He was coming out of a seven-year depression, COVID-19 had struck, he lost five family members to the disease, and on top of …

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My wife’s story: How DEA and CDC guidelines destroyed our golden years

Conditions
February 4, 2026

As health care writers and patient advocates, the authors are engaged in multiple projects intended to encourage major policy changes by highly resistant U.S. and state public health agencies. Misdirected policies and disinformation from these agencies are literally killing patients every day by denying them safe and effective management of agonizing pain, destroying the field of pain medicine, and criminalizing its practitioners.

This is institutionalized madness. It needs to stop. Now, …

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Why AI in health care is the only fix for physician shortages

Physician
February 4, 2026

Archimedes said “Eureka,” the ladies at The Knights of Columbus Hall say “Bingo,” and as an ophthalmologist, I say “This is a real eye-opener.” You may or may not recall my exasperated September/October 2025 editorial. The title is self-explanatory: “You have sudden onset of chest pain? The doctor can see you in five months: The travesty of physician unavailability.” Many of you share my pain and concern. In post-publication discussions …

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Health insurance waste: Why eliminating the middleman saves billions

Policy
February 4, 2026

Health insurers have failed in their promise to deliver quality and value to the taxpayers, providers, employers, and their subscribers.

If you find a wasteful government program, isn’t there an obligation to foster a public discussion about it? Physicians for a National Health Plan (PNHP) has developed an analysis that reveals the waste in allowing private health plans to manage Medicaid medical services. According to PNHP, returning management of medical services …

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Why scale of effort matters more than ego in health care

Physician
February 4, 2026

The inventor of the Post-it note deserves a medal. Not for convenience, but for clarity. In my practice, those little squares became tactical weapons, bright flags of truth in a sea of institutional delusion. My mother once told Kathy, before our wedding, never to touch the scraps of paper I left everywhere. She understood that my visual memory depended on those markers. Each Post-it was a breadcrumb, a map, a …

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End-of-life care cost substance use: When compassion meets economic reality

Physician
February 4, 2026

At two o’clock in the morning, the emergency department doors open to a familiar story. A middle-aged man arrives with massive gastrointestinal bleeding, severe jaundice, and advanced cirrhosis from decades of alcohol use. He has no insurance, no primary care provider, no stable home, and no ongoing addiction treatment. The next 10 days bring mechanical ventilation, endoscopic procedures, dialysis, and intensive care. The total bill will exceed $100,000, nearly all …

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Smart design choices improve patient care outcomes [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 3, 2026
YouTube video

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Watch on YouTube. Catch up on old episodes!

Physical therapists Ziya Altug and Shirish Sachdeva discuss their article “Why your clinic waiting room may affect patient outcomes.” Ziya and Shirish explore how the ambiance of a medical office significantly impacts …

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Breast cancer and the daughter who gave everything

Conditions
February 3, 2026

I had been trying to write this story for a long time. The topic is so heavy that it took a great deal of courage and emotional strength to finally put it into words. This story is not about a patient; rather, it is about a caregiver.

I met Mrs. N. in 2020. She travelled from Gujranwala to Islamabad (a distance of 223 kilometers) to begin her treatment. Mrs. N. was …

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Physician wellness is not yoga: Why resilience training fails

Physician
February 3, 2026

Let’s talk about physician wellness.

Not the version that looks good in press releases or PowerPoint slides. I am talking about the lived, messy, heart-and-body version of wellness, the one that actually matters.

Because somewhere between the lavender oil diffusers and the “wellness committees,” the real meaning of physician well-being got lost. It has become a buzzword, something hospitals display proudly on banners and conference agendas, as if saying the word “wellness” …

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Visual language in health care: Why words aren’t enough

Conditions
February 3, 2026

Picture a “No Entry” sign or a speed limit. A simple red circle needs no translation for a driver in Tokyo, Tehran, or Toronto. That’s more than just convenience; it’s a global safety net.

But in health care, where a misunderstanding can be deadly, our communication hasn’t kept up. We still rely overwhelmingly on words, pages of dense text handed to patients who are stressed, exhausted, older, or struggling with a …

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The coffee stain metaphor: Overcoming perfectionism in medicine

Physician
February 3, 2026

I recently attended a very large professional conference. In a rush to make it everywhere and yet feed myself, I was running to get breakfast before the sessions and spilled the majority of this much-desired coffee all over my shirt. Here I was, standing with an impressive, unmistakable, impossible-to-hide giant stain of dark liquid spreading across the front of my solid blue shirt and sleeve with nothing to hide it.

It …

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