Perceptions of risk and coronavirus: thoughts of an epidemiologist

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 [New eBook]( Learn how you can establish environments conducive to efficiency and patient care by working toward the quadruple aim and zeroing in on communication-related hurdles. [Read now](. [The governmental response to the COVID-19]( global pandemic has dramatically affected the practice of medicine and how [health care is delivered](. [Practices moved quickly to adopt telehealth]( during the pandemic, but one of the COVID-19 side effects is the paper fax pileup of discharge orders, lab reports and test results. [Download the Updox white paper]( to learn why one of the predictions for the future of health care is entirely paperless practices. [Tax planning for physicians updated with recent COVID-19 changes](. Learn how to save taxes and keep more of what you make by registering for this month’s webinars: Locum Tenens Tax Planning Strategies, Renting your Home to Your Business, and [Making the Most of Meals and Entertainment](. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Aug 10, 2020 [Perceptions of risk and coronavirus: thoughts of an epidemiologist]( As a physician epidemiologist and former public health official, I find myself confused by people’s perceptions of risk related to coronavirus, particularly as we struggle to reopen our economy amidst a surge of cases. I’ll meet an older adult with diabetes who could care less about distancing or masks, but then a healthy person in […] [No, I won’t play politics. I’m a doctor.]( Sneeze, and you miss it: the public’s love for health care workers. This relationship has felt like a true Coronacoaster. Pre-COVID: physicians were disparaged for the sins of insurers and hospital C-suites. COVID appears: I was gifted a yard full of signage announcing “Heroes Live Here.” COVID escalates: the World Health Organization is … defunded? We’re […] [Being a neonatologist and a mother]( Today at work, a mother asked me what I would do if it was my son in the isolette and not hers. It’s not the first time I have been asked this. I understand where the question comes from, and yet I’m at a loss of what to say every time. Not because I haven’t […] [A discussion about unprofessional behavior: a play in 1 act]( Setting: An impersonal, windowless conference room within a hospital Characters: A nurse in charge (NIC), a department chair (DC) and me (ME) *** NIC: Thank you for joining us to discuss the report you made of unprofessional behavior in the operating room. We’d like to start by letting you know that in this institution, we […] [A COVID-19 conversation with 2 cardiologists [PODCAST]]( “Trainees like myself travel great distances from home in pursuit of higher edification. Yet the coronavirus makes us worry about the aged family we leave behind – parents and grandparents. A WhatsApp message ensuring they’ve stocked up on acetaminophen, toilet paper and canned soup (low sodium, of course) the only assuage to our anguish. The […] [Is there a connection between anesthesiologists and successful money management?]( Two of the biggest hitters in the physician finance online world are both anesthesiologists (Physician on Fire and Passive Income MD). Both of them are masters of side income by approaching money in completely different directions. Is it sheer randomness that out of dozens of possible medical fields, both of these successful money-oriented doctors are in the […] [Health care, we have a problem]( “I live and die by waveforms and not just a snippet. I need to see the entire waveform and what led to an event to determine an intervention or root cause.” The intensive care specialist told me this with desperation in his voice. He’s the one who has to tell families that their loved one […] [The act of being there for our patients is an act of love]( She started crying. This tough, capable, juggernaut of an ICU nurse looked just a little broken for a second while she cried. “It’s not fair. It’s immoral—or unethical. I don’t know—I know it’s the right thing. We have to protect the patients and staff but … if it were my dad! I just … I […] [The impact of COVID on the Hispanic community [PODCAST]]( “All of our patients, but especially our most vulnerable Spanish-speaking patients, need to hear concrete, meaningful, and practical instructions on how to care for each other when they live in large multi-generational families, and positive stories from people who have successfully managed infection with COVID-19. They need to hear that, as their physicians, we are […] [There is endless profit potential to treat chronic diseases]( I have noticed several articles describing how antibiotic development has bankrupted some pharmaceutical companies because there isn’t enough potential profit in a ten-day course to treat multi-resistant superbug infections. Chronic disease treatments, on the other hand, appear to be extremely profitable. A single month’s treatment with the newer diabetes drugs, COPD inhalers, or blood thinners […] [Choice is a charged word in medicine]( Choice is always available to us. Choice is a charged word – fueling political debates and challenging concepts of freedom. Many would argue that there are unavoidable obligations, legal and cultural limitations that revoke choice, but at the core of human existence is free will that cannot be revoked. While there may be consequences for […] [Sometimes, breast isn’t always best]( August 1 to 7 is National Breastfeeding Week. I wish it wasn’t. I said it. I’m a family medicine physician with experience in working with moms and newborns in their feeding journeys. I don’t support a breastfeeding week. I wish it was something else like “Moms/Dads/grandparents/caregivers Newborn Feeding Week.” When my daughter, Wendy, was born […] [The future of whole-person care: high-tech holistic medicine]( When we think about holistic medicine, many assume that it requires human-to-human touch points and, therefore, doesn’t lend itself well to technology and innovations such as artificial intelligence. In fact, holistic medicine and whole-person care advocates often view technology as manufactured or impersonal and therefore dismiss its utility for health care. This is because there […] [A family physician’s COVID story]( It was April 5, 2020. In the months prior, I imagined, she had been grappling with the isolation of her newfound unemployment. The pandemic’s solidarity was possibly a relief: the rare solace of the permission to take a pause. Her new days were partly spent with long walks near Baker Beach, saluted by the loyal, […] [A screenwriting dermatologist shares the importance of creativity in medicine [PODCAST]]( “Someday, I suspect I will recount this time of fear with mixed emotions. Sadly, there are people who have died and more to come, and this time will also lead us to reassess our way of life and make changes for the better. I work from home, juggling the management of patients by telemedicine with […] [Delivering health care at a retail clinic isn’t something to be proud of]( When I describe it, many of you will instantly recall the Norman Rockwell painting of a doctor holding a stethoscope to the chest of a little girl’s doll. Historian Neil Harris described that iconic image, published in a 1929 edition of the Saturday Evening Post, beautifully: “Such a willingness to place professional expertise at the […] --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](