Addressing HIV Screening and Prevention in Primary Care Settings
Recently, I saw an adolescent female patient with shingles. Within the past year, she had also been evaluated for a persistent fever of unknown origin. Her infectious disease and immunology workup was...
View ArticleAddressing Implicit Bias in the Exam Room
I first became aware of implicit bias in the early 2000s. Just that short time ago, the very concept was often considered esoteric, provocative, polarizing, and unsupported by evidence. I heard...
View ArticleReinterpreting Death
He looked across the shadowy haze, death’s mirage, shimmering in the space interposed between his sickly body and my outstretched hands. “How long do I have?” His words were expected, but no less...
View ArticleConsequences
Some days you’re just not at your best. It happens to all of us. The editor misses a typo; the accountant forgets an extra deduction. We’re human, after all. We’re not expected to be perfect. Instead,...
View ArticleHold Your Nose: Today’s Medical Advertising Stinks!
Before becoming a physician and a professional medical writer/reporter, I spent about a decade kicking around in the advertising agency business. I created ads and advertising campaigns for a wide...
View ArticleParenting and the Feelings of Helplessness
Years later, I now wonder if I overstepped my boundaries. Nancy was a pleasure to have as a patient. A physician’s assistant in her early twenties, we often chatted amiably during visits. Our...
View ArticleHealthcare Costs Associated With Emergency Department Visits
The 2020 election season on the horizon, and one of the most important issues will be how candidates define the future of healthcare. On one side, we have the Republicans, who at all costs aim to...
View ArticleWill Knowing the Cost of Medical Care Drive Down Prices?
Imagine that your air conditioner breaks down and no one will give you an estimate of how much it will cost to repair it. Instead, a technician overhauls your air conditioner by doing whatever he or...
View ArticleHow to Deal With ‘Difficult’ Patients
Glancing at your clinic schedule for the following day, you see that one of your most challenging patients is scheduled to arrive at 8:00 AM. This patient has chronic medical and psychiatric issues, is...
View ArticleHospitals Suing Over Unpaid Medical Bills Hurts Our Patients
Primum non nocere. From our very first days as fledgling physicians, we make a promise to do good by our patients, but what does it mean to do harm? Should we include socioeconomic harm to the list of...
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