How do we explain the end-of-life rally?

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Earn 1.0 Category 1 CME for each episode! 15 minutes a day. 7 days a week. --------------------------------------------------------------- KevinMD Plus: Feb 28, 2022 [How do we explain the end-of-life rally?]( Granny Rachel, my husband’s mother, was an old country soul. She was a simple lady who loved the Lord. She accepted me with open arms when my own parents turned their backs on me. Granny Rachel made the best sweet tea and the best homemade vegetable soup with cornbread and gave unconditional love to all. [...] [Permission to burn the manual]( I started planning my escape in late 2020. I would find a way to quit health care, to cease being a practicing physician altogether. Living the life of a doctor-mom, I felt consumed with daily obligations and duties. Guilt plagued me for feeling burdened by this life, for feeling it was a monotonous prison. The [...] [Finding a pathway to hope: reflections from a psychiatrist]( You may be feeling hopeless. That wouldn’t be shocking, under the current circumstances. Reading the headlines, one can’t help but remember the beginning of the pandemic, when we were reading about “flattening the curve” and overrun, understaffed hospitals. Additionally, the dark days of winter can be a difficult time for many, even under the best [...] [The orphans of COVID: Who will care for them now?]( The 911 call came too late. Her daughter was 32 years old and usually quite healthy. But she refused the COVID vaccinations. She said she took her vitamins and was healthy and that “God is my pilot” and “I don’t want toxins in my body.” Her mother knew she was running a high fever. She [...] [Multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children: a pediatric hospitalist’s conversation]( Them: “I have never heard of this.” Me: “That’s OK, let me explain what is going on. Your child has a condition called multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, which we call MIS-C. We see this condition after a COVID infection where the whole body becomes inflamed, causing fevers. You get inflammation in the small blood [...] [Break the rules of health care with technology]( In the 21st century, all but one U.S. industry has used information technology (IT) to cut costs, increase access to products and services, and improve quality. Health care is the lone exception. For decades, medical costs have risen faster than inflation — with spending now above $4 trillion annually. For patients, accessing medical care is [...] [When primary care helps a psychiatrist]( “Do you plan to cut down on your hours?” This was what my primary care doctor asked me after she found me complaining about multiple somatic symptoms. As a psychiatrist, I always took pride in how I prioritized my family’s needs and found a work-life balance. I had decided to work part-time as soon as [...] [A PSA from a neurologist to the medical community [PODCAST]]( “Have you ever been to a new city and realized you’d been pronouncing a street or a town name all wrong? Have you ever been from one of those cities and has it broken your heart to hear someone call Copley Square Cope-ly? Or pronounce the Schuylkill River or Worcester how it is spelled? This [...] [Managing expectations in the face of COVID-19]( After working a 10-hour Monday, I came home and wanted to collapse on the couch. It was a typical day of dealing with more needs and demands than what was humanly possible to meet. Specifically, I was chewing on what happened at the end of the day regarding a patient’s unrealistic demands juxtaposed up against [...] [A soul that never loses faith]( I am so tired. Not in the usual “hard day at work,” but in a “deep-in-my-soul” tired. I am exhausted. I am heading into my third year as system medical director, where I lead a system-wide palliative medicine program in rural health. As in many rural systems, we have issues with broad geographic spread coupled [...] [Are hospital CEOs are responding to the realities of health care?]( On December 14th, 2021, hospital CEOs met under the guise of The Transformative CEO Healthcare Summit to brainstorm novel ideas in health care and to create “a new world ecosystem.” Themes included how to utilize medical data, how technology can transform health care and expanding at-home delivery systems of care. Leaders in health care met [...] [Pandemic behaviors, dog poop, and the social contract [PODCAST]]( “It is hard to understand and communicate the uncertainty that comes with evolving science, the changing recommendations as we learn more, the vaccine that didn’t do all that was initially promised. It has become even harder with the erosion of trust and civility. Back to the poop. It stinks. It’s not pleasant to slip and [...] [Paracelsus and the birth of toxicology]( An excerpt from Preserving Brain Health in a Toxic Age: New Insights from Neuroscience, Integrative Medicine, and Public Health. When my wife and I visited Salzburg Austria a few years ago, we stayed in a small boutique hotel formerly part of the Saint Sebastian monastery. In its famous church courtyard cemetery are buried both Mozart’s [...] [How physicians can restore themselves on vacation]( As the latest pandemic wave seems to be easing, I am again thinking about traveling. I love to travel on vacation. A staycation can be nice, especially if there’s a lot to do around the home, whether that’s working on my home (decluttering and organizing anyone?) or just getting all the little things done that [...] [Is it time to find a new mental health provider?]( The stress and hardship of the ongoing pandemic caused an increase in the number of adults, teens, and children who have sought mental health care recently. More than 23 million American adults received mental health care last year and the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children’s Hospital Association, and the American Academy of Child and [...] [Opportunities from the coding changes in primary care [PODCAST]]( “There’s a new best practice emerging, one that lets you deliver a high standard of care today but that well-prepares you for a shift to value. We’ve been talking about it throughout this article series in terms of doing more with less and making the system work for you: it’s group coaching combined with remote [...] [Inhaler nonadherence and social determinants of health]( Cities and urban environments tend to have large gaps in health care accessibility and correspondent health care disparities. Despite the existence of localized public health infrastructure, such infrastructure tends to be fragmented and cannot fully encompass the level of nuance within its patient population as a result. As such, health care inequities are cyclically perpetuated [...] [Finding joy in my forgetfulness]( Someone once described war as: “Long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.” Similar to flying: “Hours and hours of sheer boredom punctuated by moments of stark panic.” My life is like that: Fairly mundane, routine and predictable — until it isn’t. Near where I work is a sandwich shop. I have walked [...] [How not to be a broke doctor [PODCAST]]( “Remember the things that we’ve discussed as the majority of people are broke. And just because your friends are showing off the ‘stuff’ things they buy doesn’t mean they can actually afford them. Once you realize that everybody in the world is after your money, the quicker you know how the ‘money game’ is really [...] --------------------------------------------------------------- [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](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 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](