Why physicians need side gigs

--------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [6 strategic advantages of hospital contact center consolidation](. Find out why unifying your infrastructure can streamline processes and deliver better customer service. [Read the eBrief now](. Health care delivery continues to undergo unprecedented change -- how are you affected by burnout, EHR issues, and the changing practice models? Share your thoughts in [the new Future of Healthcare Survey](. For every 100 appointments, [seven won’t show](. With a $20 co-pay and average reimbursement of $90, your practice is losing as much as $41,000/year. Tired of calling patients to remind them about appointments? [Get that time and money back now](. What hospital CIOs are prioritizing for 2018: [View infographic](. [Patient misidentification can lead to medical errors, patient harm, and costly inefficiencies]( for providers. Get the facts on patient misidentification, and [learn how to avoid it]( from organizations that use biometrics to do so. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Jan. 15, 2018 [Why physicians need side gigs]( At first, it may seem strange that “physician” and “side gig” are even used in the same sentence. After all, the average physician in the United States is already working more than a 40 hour work week and struggling with issues related to work-life balance. As someone who talks about physician burnout and as the […] [Structured settlements are ruining patients’ lives]( There are a lot of TV commercials for structured settlement companies these days. You know, the companies that say if you are cash-strapped but have a structured settlement they will be happy to buy your settlement and give you “cash now.” Some of the commercials are quite clever and catchy featuring everything from operettas to […] [Health care and the airline industry have a lot in common]( There are many apt comparisons to be made between aviation and health care. As a (lapsed) instrument-rated pilot, I may have some insight about the system in which planes function on a daily basis in the United States. It is truly an impressive system which is (to paraphrase Don Berwick) well-designed to achieve the safety […] [Here’s why doctors must know prescription costs]( As the health care debate drags on, prescription drug costs continue to rise by almost 10 percent annually. It is the rare patient who is spared this expense. Over the years, I have seen how these costs have affected my patients. At first, most patients had little in the way of co-pays. However, once the […] [The CVS-Aetna merger: millions of lives hang in the balance]( Recently, pharmacy giant CVS agreed to purchase Aetna for an astounding $69 billion dollar sum. The company allegedly plans to reduce health spending by developing an integrated system touted as “a new front door for health care in America.” This merger is actually an acquisition, entailing transfer of ownership. The central aim of an acquisition is to […] --------------------------------------------------------------- [An inspiring KevinMD keynote]( will make your event memorable. "Kevin's keynote presentation was perfect. Extremely rich in content, and a delivery that is world class." [Visit Kevin's speaking page]( to find out more. --------------------------------------------------------------- [What’s the latest on estrogen use in post-menopausal women?]( Estrogen is a miracle drug for many women who experience the drenching sweats, sexual dysfunction and frustrating brain betrayals associated with entering menopause. It comes in expensive patches, less expensive pills or injections, as well as vaginal creams or rings. It has gone in and out of favor with the medical community for decades. Estrogen […] [This physician’s keys to financial freedom]( Never was I used to having money to invest; it seemed like I always found a way to make income equal expenses. Such was the life of the young, naive 20-something-year-old who had no idea how to build assets. Going into my 30s, I began to read more, study more, and inquire more when it […] [Are physicians losing the healing touch?]( A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. I keenly remember the thrill of making my way to the medical bookstore as an early first-year student to buy my first stethoscope. Although receiving the short white coat at the start of medical school symbolizing the transition into the medical profession was […] [Is work-life balance for physicians a unicorn?]( This discussion is something I’ve tossed around in my head for awhile. As I have gone back and forth on the topic, I decided to debate myself while I answer the question: Is work-life balance a real thing? If so, what is it and can it be achieved, specifically in a demanding field such as […] [We need to embrace our failures]( When doing scientific research, we expect to fail. In fact, we write the likelihood of negative findings into our protocols and plans. We expect things to not always work as we think they might, and we accept that we may not prove what we set out to prove. In the scientific community, we depend on […] [The critical importance of wisdom]( What are the most important things we can teach our kids? These days there are a lot of possible answers. Obviously, STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) often lead to lucrative, stable careers; they seem to be tickets to “the good life,” or so we’re taught. Languages are helpful. You can’t go wrong with basic […] [Physicians need a new attitude towards debt]( I am continually running into people who are confused as to what constitutes debt when we are doing a makeover with their spending plans. Wikipedia defines debt as money owed by one party, the borrower or debtor, to a second party, the lender or creditor. I have clients who list out their accounts payable as […] [#MeToo: “I think i was raped,” my patient said]( Recently, I watched the movie Iron Jawed Angels with my daughter for her high school literature class. It retells the story of the women’s suffrage movement in the early 1900s, highlighting what the suffragettes endured to fight for women’s right to vote. Many brave women were taunted and tortured, arrested while peacefully protesting and then […] [Why health care replaced physician care]( Ever wonder what health care really means and why it’s even used? When you’re sick, do you need health care or a doctor? Maybe as physicians, we need to ask the same about the words “health care provider.” On April 11, 1993, The New York Times editor William Safire commented on the attempt at the […] [Vital signs only tell you so much about a patient]( It’s another day for me as an intern on the labor-and-delivery floor of my large urban hospital — another day scrambling to help pregnant women deliver and trying to keep pace with the unpredictable timetable of the birthing process. My hospital phone rings. I’m really starting to dread that sound. It’s the triage nurse. We’re […] [Laughter: It’s really the best medicine]( Is laughter the best medicine? Indeed it is. Brad Nieder is a physician and comedian and can be reached at the Healthy Humorist. Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. [Success stories in driving up adult immunization rates]( As we continue to lead longer and healthier lives, too many Americans aren’t taking advantage of an easily accessible set of tools that could protect their well-being into old age: adult vaccines. As a nation, we’ve embraced a regular schedule of vaccines for our children. But science shows that they are proven life-savers for us […] [MKSAP: 65-year-old man with chronic kidney disease]( Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 65-year-old man is evaluated during a follow-up visit for stage G3b/A3 chronic kidney disease due to diabetic nephropathy. He reports doing well with good baseline exercise tolerance and no shortness of breath. Medical history is also significant for type 2 […] [20 anecdotes that describe the world of female medical students and physicians]( I recently collected anecdotes from women in medicine who have noticed the same thing I’ve noticed: We’re not as comfortable here as our male counterparts. Despite progress, medicine remains a patriarchy — an “old boy’s club” — and the women in this world are frequently reminded of this status quo. In collecting these anecdotes, I’ve noticed […] [Learn about Salter-Harris fractures with a Medcomic]( Pediatric physeal fractures have traditionally been described by the five-part Salter-Harris classification system. Type I fractures occur through the growth plate. These injuries may present with normal radiographs, and the diagnosis is often made clinically when tenderness is palpated over the growth plate. Type II fractures occur through the growth plate and metaphysis. Type II injuries are […] [A story of 2 torsions]( The kids were asleep, and I could hear a muted, distant moaning coming from our bedroom. It reminded me of labor pains, but there were three things making labor unlikely: my wife’s IUD, the absence of a gravid abdomen and the kind of unintentional celibacy that occurs between working parents raising two toddlers. I tried […] [Earn the right to inflate your lifestyle]( Recently, we learned how lifestyle inflation can be toxic. In case you’re wondering, there is a time and place to inflate your lifestyle. However, you can’t just do it whenever you want. You have to earn it. Here’s how it works. The basics If your goal is financial independence, I recommend that you live on half your income and save […] --------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the KevinMD e-newsletter. 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