Stop telling doctors what to do

Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ --------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the stories you missed on KevinMD. Thank you for your continuing readership. --------------------------------------------------------------- Sponsors [More than 300 health care professionals]( shared their firsthand insights on key challenges, strategies, trends, and the importance of the contact center in the patient experience. [Read the results here](. [A third of U.S. physicians are already using artificial intelligence (AI)]( in their practices, and many believe this technology can help address diagnostic errors -- the largest cause of malpractice claims. However, there are still [unresolved questions about the risks](. [Convenience is a major factor]( for younger generations when choosing a health care provider. But how can providers give them what they want? Learn 5 ways on how you can [build a practice for younger patients](. [Workplace violence in health care]( isn’t an easy or simple challenge to address. In this blog post, learn specific ways communication technology can help protect [your health care staff](. [We simplify disability and life insurance]( for busy doctors so they feel confident they have the right policy and that their [income is protected](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Nov 25, 2019 [Stop telling doctors what to do]( I enjoy a fairly small private practice and a manageable telepsychiatry side job with good support staff. But even the small scale of my outpatient clinical practice doesn’t fully insulate me from the pain of unnecessary practices that I wish would become obsolete. 1. Preauthorization. The dance of preauthorization starts with the naivety on my […] [A call to increase the availability of the Butrans patch]( Janelle had overdosed 32 times. Fentanyl coursed through her veins as she was given naloxone (Narcan) for the 32nd time in the ER, from the police, from a bystander. She could never get off of fentanyl. It had made her feel warm and numbed her from the trauma and horrors she had grown accustomed to. When […] [A physician’s perspective on California’s Camp Fire]( Working as an emergency physician at a level 1 trauma center and as an Army reserve officer, you learn to expect the unexpected – but working as the ER doctor taking care of patients impacted by the most deadly and destructive wildfire in California history last year changed me. As I walked into work last […] [Why choose a woman doctor?]( Like all doctors, I’m a lousy patient. My doctor is a lovely man, but going to see him? That’s right there with weighing myself, getting a flu shot and doing my taxes, and behind celebrating Thanksgiving with the in-laws and getting a root canal. And I’m not the only one. If I had a dollar […] [It’s OK to cry when a patient dies]( As a young medical student, in my early 20s, I was still too inexperienced to know how a physician was “supposed to” act. But I took the model of stoicism that I learned from my East Indian father and applied it to the medical model. Lectures on “professional detachment” reinforced this. I remember being told […] [What would an optimal libertarian health care system look like?]( Next in a series. In prior posts, I described my Healthcare Incentives Framework. If you haven’t read those, I recommend you check them out first to have the full context for this post. But here’s a refresher of the main points of the framework without re-explaining all the rationale: The Healthcare Incentives Framework helps show how […] [A case for computers at the bedside]( “It should be in my chart.” I’m sure we have all heard this statement uttered with a subtle (or not so subtle) edge of frustration from our patients after asking a question such as “what medications do you take?” I find clinicians despise this comment because it is interpreted as (a) the patient is not […] [Teach mindfulness in medical school]( Mindfulness and meditation. Meditation and mindfulness. Allow me to elaborate. I went to medical school in the 1980s. Nobody talked about complementary and alternative approaches to healthcare or mind-body medicine. It wasn’t because we students thought it was weird; it wasn’t even on our collective radar screen. It was, however, out there even then. Andrew […] [Why this physician believes in Santa Claus]( As we approach Christmas, you only need to go to the nearest mall to witness the frenzied activity in preparation. People scurry around trying to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones and co-workers at the lowest prices. While gift-giving indeed is an act of love, many postulate that we have become lost in […] [Are Americans really the worst patients?]( A recent article was published in the Atlantic about Americans being the worst patients. Americans are part of a broken and dysfunctional health care system with exorbitant costs, a maelstrom of bureaucratic red tape, and insurance coverage that barely covers what most people need. But are they contributing to this system by being such bad […] [Medicine’s not what it used to be]( When I was accepted to medical school, I debated — hard — whether or not to attend. Out of the physicians I shadowed and interviewed, 19 out of 20 advised me not to become a physician. Their dissatisfaction was rampant. Over and over, I was told, “Don’t be a doctor. Medicine’s not what it used […] [Shake up health care leadership. Now.]( We are going to need new types of physician leaders to get the change in health care clinicians want. When I observe current physician leaders, I notice the bulk often fall into two distinct groups. On one side, there are the out-of-touch and on the other the overwhelmed. Both types have positive and negative attributes. […] [MKSAP: 67-year-old man with a carotid bruit]( Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 67-year-old man is evaluated for a carotid bruit detected on routine medical examination. He reports no history of previous focal neurologic symptoms or visual loss. He has type 2 diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia treated with metformin, moderate-intensity pravastatin, and aspirin. […] [Late-career physician? Change your life by being social.]( Sixteen months into retirement, the absence of any externally imposed schedule still leaves me partly edgy. Medicare, COBRA, and cell phone bills come due at expected dates. The check goes out the next day, but it could wait another day or a week. Shabbos commences and concludes as the cycles of nature require. If I […] [How studying abroad helped get me into medicine]( Think studying abroad doesn’t fit with your future plans? Think again. Since the day I applied to university, I had been researching how I could incorporate global learning into my undergraduate degree program, while also thinking about my future goals for getting into medical school. When I was accepted to do a Bachelor of Science […] --------------------------------------------------------------- If a friend sent you this email and you want to subscribe, go to [KevinMD](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 345 Hudson Street New York NY 10014 USA [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](