Stop cutting patients off their prescribed benzodiazepines

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 [Clinician burnout in health care]( Over 470 clinical staff participated in a 2019 clinician burnout survey administered by Spok. Read about their perceptions of clinician burnout and how their organizations are working to tackle it. [See the results](. [The Office of National Drug Control Strategy]( promotes an "all hands on deck approach" to saving lives by building an [addiction medicine workforce](. [Telehealth is experiencing meteoric growth]( and adoption by patients, employers, payers, and providers continues to grow. A do-nothing approach carries surprising risks. Download our eBook to learn the [5 eye-opening stats about telehealth](. [Get insight and actionable data]( on how your patients talk about you online. AI powered through social listening. Get your [Patience Experience (PX) Score]( report now. [Conference planners!]( Find vetted, handpicked physician speakers that shine on stage. Physician Speaking by KevinMD: [Your audience deserves the best](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Jan 6, 2020 [Stop cutting patients off their prescribed benzodiazepines]( In the wake of the opioid epidemic, benzodiazepines have been called “our other prescription drug problem” and “the next U.S. drug crisis.” Prescriptions are on the rise, with over 30 million Americans reporting benzodiazepine use in the previous year. This is alarming, as benzodiazepines are implicated in at least 30% of opioid overdose deaths and […] [Is health care just legal human trafficking?]( The standard business model around which our world revolves has no place in the “business” of human life, which is what the commercialized industry of health care has become. To be the most successful, businesses work to optimize profits by minimizing their operating costs, which include material resources and all the steps involved in distributing […] [Getting a terminal diagnosis for my baby]( I knew things weren’t right when a nurse called me on my cell phone just a few minutes after she sent me to pump milk in a private room and said that the medical team wants to meet with my husband and me immediately in a conference room. My suspicions were confirmed when we walked […] [The intern who knows everything]( What seems like a tidal wave of pages washes over you. Drowning in a torrential sea of order clarification, bowel regimens, and vital sign deviations — you struggle to stay afloat. Medical school did not prepare you for this. Patients and nurses are calling you, “doctor,” you wish to return to that minimal responsibility role […] [The hidden benefits of your health insurance plan can save your life]( At kitchen tables everywhere, ordinary Americans have been grappling with the arcane language of deductibles and co-pays as they’ve struggled to select a health insurance plan during open enrollment season. Unfortunately, critical information that could literally spell the difference between life and death is conspicuously absent from the glossy brochures and eye-catching websites. Which plan will arrange […] [Medicine needs to buy into the idea of storytelling]( The theme of the conference is the medical humanities. After Lawrence Hill’s keynote speech, the lineup of people waiting to speak with him is long. At the end of the day, I’m inspired by the lectures I attended, but disappointed that I didn’t get the chance to speak with Dr. Hill. I should have just stood […] [Physicians are suffering, and they need help]( Burnout is a big and burgeoning problem in the United States. According to a recent Mayo Clinic report, it affects 28% of the general working population. Among physicians, however, the rate is markedly higher, ranging from 44% to 54% in most studies. More concerning are the consequences: Doctors who report burnout symptoms are twice as likely to commit a medical error. […] [Speaking to cancer as if it were a person]( I’d known Ellis for years — he once hired me for a social work job. Yet when I think of Ellis Ledger, I remember him best the night I encountered him outside of his apartment building. I was out late walking my dog. Ellis stopped to talk. He clearly was drunk, not falling-down-drunk (he never […] [A physician’s inaccurate cancer prognosis]( Mr. G* was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer two years ago and has been on a succession of medications to control a progressive cancer. His PSA never nadired after surgery, and adjuvant radiation only increased his urinary problems. Androgen deprivation therapy added to his symptoms, and he is now considering taking a second-generation androgen-receptor antagonist. […] [What makes the perfect doctor?]( I’m an ER doc, and I spent my last two decades in the house of medicine. First, training to become a doctor. Then, trying to be a better doctor. No matter how hard I tried, I’ve never been the “perfect doctor.” I started wondering: what makes one a “perfect doctor”? The perfect doctor lives in […] [8 things to do as a new attending that I didn’t learn as a resident]( Here are eight things to do as a new attending that I didn’t learn as a resident (and wish I had). Establish a budget There are two times when a budget is a very important tool: when you are struggling financially and when you have a large income or expense change. Now that you have […] [5 tips on choosing the right medical specialty for you]( As a practicing surgeon that has one foot in the world of teaching and the other in corporate health care delivery, I enjoy speaking to students and residents about the future. We often discuss topics like the shift from volume to value, consolidation, insurance models, and specialization. Often this information is new to them, and […] [Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference?]( Would a Hippocratic Oath for health care executives make a difference? Probably not. Nonetheless, there is ample evidence that the organizational cultures of too many hospitals are not conducive to physician well-being. In a provocative blog posted on May 2, 2019, emergency medicine physician Mark Borden indicated a Hippocratic Oath was urgently needed for administrators. […] [How your mind can turn against you]( An excerpt from Fallible: A Memoir of a Young Physician’s Struggle with Mental Illness. Jason had an entire group of voices in his head that he called “the committee.” They talked nearly constantly, sometimes in a flat roar but often escalating to shouting. He described it as like being at a party—always something going on, […] [Most medical offices are hopelessly old fashioned]( Imagine if your bank handled all your online transactions for free but charged you only when you visited your local branch — and then kept pestering you to come in, pay money and chat with them every three months or at least once a year if you wanted to keep your accounts active. Of course, […] [What doctors can (and should) learn from patients]( A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD.com. In many ways, the patient-physician relationship is seen as being mostly one-sided, with doctors possessing medical knowledge and wisdom, and patients with less medical information being in a position where they need a physician’s help and guidance in managing their health issues. Consequently, […] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](