I'm a surgeon and I don’t depend on narcotics

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 [Physicians’ cognitive load is overwhelming]( They spend 67 minutes each day simply processing notifications. Download this guide to discover 3 ways to ease physicians’ extraneous cognitive load and [increase their happiness](. [Major transformations are taking place in health care](. Here is what they are and how they are affecting [physicians and patients](. Is reimbursement holding you back from [providing telehealth services]( Reimbursement models are catching up. It’s completely affordable to get started and more patients are demanding it everyday. Download our infographic which [dispels 5 common myths about telehealth](. The Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center is working to [make it easier for physicians and nurses to communicate]( reduce burnout, and improve patient outcomes. Learn how VCU has "definitely alleviated both provider and clinician burnout" with an [enterprise communication system](. [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: Dec 2, 2019 [I'm a surgeon and I don’t depend on narcotics]( I recently had a conversation with a new patient who was referred for surgery. As it happens, she discussed me with people she knew before her appointment. I like patients to look me up, talk to friends, find out who I am, and come with an expectation of what they will get in my clinic. […] [What will happen when the mentally ill get older?]( Jacob is just past 30 by a year or two. He is, as I like to describe him, a little boy trapped inside a man’s body and very much mentally ill. He started off with fetal alcohol syndrome, which means his mother drank heavily when she was pregnant. I am not sure I believe that […] [Doctors shouldn’t be horse whisperers]( I scribbled my signature on a pharmaceutical rep’s iPad today for some samples of Jardiance, a diabetes drug that now has expanded indications, according to the Food and Drug Administration. This drug lowers blood sugar (reduces HbA1c by less than 1 point) but also reduces diabetes-related kidney damage, heart attacks, strokes and now also admission […] [7 reasons why it’s hard to be kind]( Why do so many of us (meaning me) need to be reminded to act with kindness? Why can’t we “just do it”? Yesterday, a friend asked me why we don’t celebrate World Kindness Day every day. I believe that’s a wonderful idea. But in practice, it’s not so easy. So, I got to thinking about […] [Is it finally time for wage insurance?]( America sits at the precipice of a crisis. Automation has resulted in significant job losses — 47 perent of existing American jobs remain at high risk of being lost in the future. And at least some voters may have been reacting to automation in casting their ballots for Donald Trump in 2016. Yet, with the […] [3 reasons every physician investor should consider self-storage as part of their alternative investment portfolio]( We talk with a lot of physicians every day who ask us a simple question. “Why should I invest in self-storage?” Obviously, as a self-storage operator, we are biased, but there are three data points that we believe make this a fantastic asset class for physicians to evaluate for their own portfolios. Wait a minute, […] [Physicians are usually adulting in every other aspect of their life except money]( This week my wife and I celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary. It made me think about how my life has changed from when I was a single freshman in college. A time when I didn’t always do the right thing. I knew it was against both the law and school policy to drink alcohol at my […] [The secret to travel doctor success? Bring your family.]( I recently returned from my second extended stay in New Zealand with my family. The entire experience was wonderful, but perhaps our most memorable day began with our three teenage sons waking up early to surf in the South Pacific Ocean. Once we had our fill of tropical paradise, we jumped in the car and […] --------------------------------------------------------------- [Thousands of physicians are browsing this job board](. They love its selection of over 12,000 openings across the U.S.. [Physicians are finding opportunities they almost missed](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [What would an optimal single-payer health care system look like?]( Next in a series. The Healthcare Incentives Framework helps show how to fix incentives in health care systems. It starts by enumerating the five jobs we expect a health care system to do for us and then identifies which parties in the health care system (providers or insurers) have a natural incentive to fulfill each of […] [The first lesson in medical school: Say you’re sorry]( I paced in the hallway outside of the patient’s room, going over my mental checklist of items to do during the history and physical examination. Bringing in a paper list was discouraged; we were meant to “flow” through the exam “naturally.” I stuffed my hands into the pockets of the white coat I’d received three […] [Doctor: You were strong. You are still strong today.]( You were strong in college You were strong enough to get through weed-out classes in undergrad. You were strong enough to balance the extra-curricular activities and clinical shadowing expected of you while crushing a 21-hour semester. You were strong enough to say, “no, I have to study” when friends wanted to go out because you […] [MKSAP: 38-year-old man with dyspnea on exertion]( Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians. A 38-year-old man is evaluated for a 6-month history of dyspnea on exertion. He has gastroesophageal reflux disease and Raynaud phenomenon. He does not smoke and has no cough or wheezing. Current medications are lansoprazole and amlodipine. On physical examination, vital […] [The stethoscope is not just a prop]( Stock photos of “health care workers” who attend patients — physicians are no longer distinguishable — usually feature a stethoscope draped around the neck. But some, such as cardiologist Eric Topol, consider the stethoscope obsolete, nothing more than a pair of “rubber tubes.” The most important part of the stethoscope is the part between the […] [Drugmakers discover tardive dyskinesia. And they profit in it.]( Before direct-to-consumer ads, physicians tried to reassure patients they were probably fine. Today, drug ads and online symptom checkers do just the opposite. The most insidious are “unbranded” ads that scare people about a disease without mentioning the drug they are trying to sell. Notable unbranded disease campaigns sell the obscure exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, shift […] [Doctors on TV: today vs. 20 years ago]( I’ll admit it. I’m a medical-TV junkie, addicted to 21st-century doctor and hospital dramas (most of which are now streaming on Netflix and other services). Although some physicians are bothered by sensationalized depictions of their profession, I appreciate these shows for what they deliver: equal parts entertainment and insight. On the one hand, medical dramas […] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](