These are tumultuous times for practicing physicians. The health care landscape is changing at breathtaking pace and less and less of our time is spent doing what we were actually trained to do: taking care of patients. I absolutely love the patient care part of my job, do everything possible to always remember why I went to medical school in the first place, and maintain focus on the aspects of …
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The frontlines of health care have been transformed over the last decade as electronic medical records have been rolled out across America. Unfortunately, information technology has yet to live up to its immense promise in health care — a topic that I frequently write about. As somebody who has worked with every single major EHR on my travels, I am being brutally honest when I say not a single one …
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In my travels up and down the East Coast, I have been fortunate enough to work with some fantastic nurses. From what I hear, there was much more of an authoritarian relationship between doctors and nurses a few decades ago — preceding the time I entered the medical profession. This has now morphed into much more of a collegial teamwork approach, as we battle to get our patients better at …
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Many of the everyday coalface problems we face in health care are simply due to suboptimal communication. It could be the patient or family member who doesn’t know what’s going on in the hospital, the nurse who is confused about orders, or the doctor who doesn’t understand the reasoning behind the seemingly terrible administrative directive they are receiving.
Take it from me, as someone who has seen health care at close …
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I am honored to be a member of the medical profession. Being a physician is a great job and a highly rewarding thing to do. One of the aspects that I like most, unlike so many other desk or number jobs, is that you can never go home in this line of work thinking that you haven’t done something good with your day (if you do, there’s something seriously wrong).
The …
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Exactly a year ago, on the day of the election, I wrote a piece that touched upon humankind’s turbulent history, basic traits and inevitable propensity for division and conflict based upon an amazing book I read: “A Little History of the World.” I related it to the election that was taking place on that day. A year on, it seems like our country is no less …
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Online dating is all the rage these days. Statistics suggest that over a third of couples now meet online. For a lot of older readers of this blog, who met their husband or wife the traditional way and are baffled by this whole new world (and don’t get me wrong, there were probably many ways in which those days were better!), whether you understand the whole online or app dating …
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Anyone with even the slightest passing interest in health care, has heard the mind-blowing statistics. As a nation, we spend almost 3.5 trillion dollars on health care. To put that into perspective, that is more than the total GDP of every country in the world apart from China and Japan! Germany, next on the list, has an entire GDP of 3.4 trillion dollars. At 18 percent of the economy, we …
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It’s something that’s not taught anywhere near enough as it should be in medical school, but every practicing physician quickly realizes that communication is everything in health care. It’s the foundation of the doctor-patient relationship, and what patients will judge you on. Sure, doctors are among the busiest professionals out there. We do an incredibly hectic job. But it’s so imperative to remember the importance of that interaction with your …
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A couple of weeks ago I visited Canada. It was my first visit in a very long time. We were in Ontario, spending most of the time in the Toronto area, and also getting to visit the majestic Niagara Falls for the day. I’ve heard so much over the years about the differences between neighbors USA and Canada, and in even just a few days there, agreed that there are …
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It was my childhood dream to become an airline pilot. We lived near Heathrow airport in London, and I was a diligent plane spotter (please save the jokes). I had a book when I was nine years old that listed all civil aviation registrations, and I would mark them off as I spotted different planes through my binoculars, coming into land at the world’s busiest international airport. My flying memories …
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I recently read an article about how the physicians’ lounge, which was once present in every hospital and an important congregating area for doctors during the day, is now mostly a thing of the past. Although the article was not a new one, it peaked my interest because I’ve witnessed the demise of the physicians’ lounge at close quarters over the last several years.
Speaking too as someone who has …
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The news cycle over the last several days has been dominated by President Trump’s interjection into the row about NFL players refusing to stand during the national anthem.The media went into hysteria following his curse remarks, and a full-blown row has gone on to develop. Turning this issue into a national political one is a great shame on so many different levels, including not least the reality that …
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The debate about the future of health care rages stronger than ever. As someone who grew up and trained in a country with probably the most centrally controlled medical system in the world—the United Kingdom with her NHS—my views have admittedly done a 180 over the last decade. I am no longer as strong a believer in socialized health care as I once was, and actually believe the future for …
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It’s a scenario that every doctor is familiar with. You are having a busy day and working full steam to get everyone better. You suddenly receive that unexpected message: “Mr. Johnson and his family are very upset and would like to speak with you now.”
Most of the time, any physician’s initial reaction will be one of irritation, disappointment or frustration: “My goodness, I’m working so hard here, and we have …
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Last week a physician friend recommended watching the movie the Big Short. The description given to me was that it was a great movie that was all about a bunch of guys who saw the 2008 financial crisis coming. Sure enough, that very weekend, I planned a night in to get take out and watch it on Netflix.
And it sure didn’t disappoint. Starring Ryan Gosling, Steve Carrell, Christian Bale, and …
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“Hello Dr. Payne, thanks for calling back, there’s a consult I’d like you to see.”
“What’s going on?”
“Well there’s a patient up on 7 East who …”
“Wait a minute. 7 East … isn’t there some other specialist covering there?”
“No Dr. Payne, the schedule says you on Wednesdays.”
“Oh, I’ll check that.”
“OK, Dr. Payne, well we have this 72-year old, Mrs. Jones, who originally got admitted with pneumonia. She now has unusual inflammatory …
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As many of you know, much of my focus has been on how we can improve health care information technology, and build on the systems that we currently have to make them more user-friendly and less cumbersome. At the crux of the problem is the issue of the disproportionate amount of time they take to navigate and how they turn the noble and personable art of being a doctor, into …
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