I have spent years working with older adults in community and home-based care. During that time, I learned that one of the most stubborn barriers to health is not a rare disease, a complex guideline, or even a lack of services.
Sometimes, the barrier is a piece of paper. A flyer that an 80-year-old cannot read because the font is too small, a brochure filled with medical jargon that confuses more …
Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, yet it often receives far less attention than other smoking-related cancers. According to the GLOBOCAN global cancer fact sheet, bladder cancer is among the top 10 most frequently diagnosed cancers globally, with more than half a million new cases diagnosed each year worldwide. It occurs significantly more often in men than in women, and the risk rises steadily with …
Last month, a daughter called our care center in panic. Her mother, who lives with early dementia and mobility problems, needed support immediately. She had already contacted five agencies. All of them gave the same answer: “We have caregivers, but they are not allowed to work here.”
Not because the workers lacked skills. Not because the families were difficult. But because recent regulations now restrict long-term care workers to a single …
More than 40 percent of U.S. women live with obesity, yet about 3 percent of individuals eligible for treatment actually receive evidence-based medical care. The reasons for this gap are numerous: limited insurance coverage, lack of diagnosis, sociodemographic barriers, and deep-seated stigma. As a result, a condition that is both preventable and treatable continues to fuel a growing public health crisis for women.
Once viewed as only a lifestyle issue, we …
There are pauses in life
that stretch like thin threads
between two cliffs
fragile, invisible,
yet holding everything that matters.
In those long silences
when the air thickens
and the mind becomes
a loud companion,
I wonder
are these pauses gifts of grace,
spaces to gather courage,
a chance to map the next step forward?
Or are they doorways through which
fear seeps in
and takes its seat inside my chest?
The world rushes on, demanding answers
before the question
has even settled in my heart,
results before thinking,
certainties …
As innovations and changes develop in the police field, new areas and populations, including PwP, must be included. More than 1 million cases of Parkinson’s disease are predicted in the U.S. by 2030. PD is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world. According to the World Health Organization, “globally, disability due to PD is rapidly increasing,” which can precipitate more encounters between law enforcement and PwP worldwide. The current article …
What is the significance of World AIDS Day?
While pondering this question, many memories came flooding back. As a medical student in 1985, I was given the option to go into the room of a patient with pneumonia who was infected …
As a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner (MSCP), I strongly support the recent FDA decision to remove the boxed warnings from FDA-approved estrogen therapies. For decades, these warnings created unnecessary fear and confusion for women and clinicians alike. They were based on early interpretations of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) that we now understand were overstated, misapplied, and widely misinterpreted.
The new FDA stance aligns with The Menopause Society guidelines and what …
A cesarean section, or C-section, is one of the most common surgeries in the United States. In 2023, 32.3 percent of live births were cesarean deliveries, while 67.7 percent were vaginal deliveries, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Pain during cesarean delivery under neuraxial anesthesia (regional anesthesia including spinal and epidural anesthesia) is a recognized clinical challenge and one that has received growing national attention. Recent media …
Before a doctor ever diagnoses a child with acute flaccid paralysis, the culprit leaves definitive clues in the sewer. At the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, we spin bottles of wastewater in the centrifuge, pH-balance, and look for these clues. Their presence signals the return of an enemy we once thought we had defeated.
For decades, the world has rallied around the dream of eradication, the triumphant declaration that humanity …
At the end of a clinic visit, the conversation often turns to lifestyle: eat healthier, exercise more, cut back on alcohol, sleep better. Patients nod, agree, and walk out the door.
And too often, little changes.
Why does advice that seems so straightforward rarely stick? The answer lies in the gap between medical instruction and human behavior.
The limits of good intentions
Research has shown that simply giving advice is rarely enough. A 2019 …
Kidney stone disease remains one of the most common and painful conditions in urology, affecting millions worldwide each year. Global data show a continued rise in incidence (more than 100 million new cases in 2021) making prevention and long-term management a priority for both clinicians and patients. Despite significant advances in minimally invasive treatment, many patients still ask a familiar question: “Is there a natural remedy that can help …
Across conferences and journals worldwide, we repeat the same aspiration: Health care must shift from treating disease to promoting health. Yet most systems (regardless of country) remain architected around illness. Buildings, budgets, and workflows are still optimized for what happens after the body breaks down.
My perspective changed after speaking with a senior health care leader in Asia. He did not begin by discussing surgical innovation, emergency demands, or reimbursement challenges. …
ADVERTISEMENT
The recent federal conviction of Done Global’s CEO, Ruthia He, and its clinical president, psychiatrist David Brody, on November 20, 2025, has brought long-standing concerns about virtual ADHD prescribing into undeniable focus. A San Francisco jury found both executives guilty of conspiring to distribute Adderall and other Schedule II stimulants, along with health care fraud and (for He) obstruction of justice. According to the Department of Justice, Done Global generated …
If you’re managing metabolic disease for your patients, you’re also dealing with liver disease, whether you realize it or not. Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects up to 70 percent of patients who have type 2 diabetes or obesity, yet reliable, routine screening for liver disease is anything but commonplace.
I often wonder why that is. After all, the liver is arguably the most sensitive barometer of metabolic dysfunction, …
As an oncologist, I’ve sat through the 24- to 48-hour EMR trainings that claim to prepare clinicians for new systems. They rarely do. The average physician still spends one to two days in technical onboarding and another month fumbling through screens before feeling comfortable. Versions vary wildly even within the same vendor, and every move to a new hospital resets the learning curve.
One night in a rural hospital, I watched …
I used to believe that being a good physician meant being generous, flexible, and willing to bend the rules if it helped a patient. I don’t believe that anymore.
The lesson came from a young patient who walked into my traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinic one afternoon, looking exhausted, embarrassed, and desperate.
He needed a powdered herbal preparation that cost around NT$7,500 (about $230). He stared at the ground and whispered, “Doctor, …
As the holiday season approaches, many people look forward to gatherings, travel, and celebrations centered around food. For those living with food allergies, however, this time of year brings a different reality. It means navigating crowded parties where allergens are everywhere, traveling on airlines that may or may not honor allergy precautions, and repeatedly encountering people who still do not fully believe that food allergy is real or life-threatening. The …
Developmental-behavioral pediatrics (DBP) was once defined by giants, leaders who authored textbooks, set standards, and gave the specialty a clear identity. Today, the field is fragmented, misunderstood, and too often hostile to new ideas. My own career arc illustrates how inbreeding and isolation have hollowed out DBP, leaving children without advocates and institutions without direction.
At a major military medical center, retired military DBPs replaced me. All were trained at that …
Researchers at Sichuan University in China have developed a laser therapy that selectively kills pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) tumors while preserving the surrounding healthy tissue. The technology, built around a 6.1-micron laser, takes advantage of the characteristic collagen fingerprint within PDAC tumors to focus the laser energy where it is needed the most.
The technology has received full approval from the Chinese National Medical Products Administration and will be developed …
Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.
