Medical
Overcoming the invisible “coronavirus wall” between doctors and patients
A guest column by the American College of Physicians, exclusive to KevinMD. Pandemics periodically alter the course of history, reshaping society as people struggle to deal with the consequences of a new and often devastating disease. As with past pandemics, over just a few months we have witnessed the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus stretch our…
Read MoreWhich COVID-19 test should I get?
COVID-19 testing has been on the rise – with more and more tests being developed and more testing sites available. Many are drive-thru and walk-in test sites, and anyone is able to show up and get tested. There are so many different types of COVID-19 testing (PCR testing, antigen testing, and antibody testing) via different…
Read MoreHow can you help a loved one suffering from loneliness?
You are worried about your mother. Before the pandemic, you would visit her every week with your young children. They loved playing in her garden and eating homemade cookies together. You would take your mother to medical appointments and on small excursions. However, due to her chronic lung disease, you made the difficult decision in…
Read MoreBlowing the whistle on health care fraud [PODCAST]
“Fraud in the health care industry is a fact of life. In 2016 alone, the federal government estimated that improper payments by Medicare and Medicaid totaled about $95 billion. And that’s only a single year’s amount for just two of the government’s many health care programs. With an aging population, increased health care spending, the…
Read MoreHow virtual learning enhanced my immersion and mentorship in neurosurgery
A message appeared in the chatbox. “Always trust the parents. If they think the shunt has failed, more likely than not, they’re right.” It was one of the two fifth-year neurosurgery residents, both present on the video platform for virtual clinic to moderate medical students through patient cases. Prior to each virtual clinic session, the…
Read MoreIn the rush to get back to school, let’s not forget teachers’ mental health
Teachers in Ontario, Canada never imagined they would leave for March break and not return to finish the school year with their students. Many classrooms were frozen in time with Friday, March 12, 2020 still displayed on the walls. Before COVID-19, the rotating strikes by Ontario teachers were the big news story in education in…
Read MoreDirect primary care: Great for some doctors, but challenging for patients
The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent drop in patient visits have led some observers to conclude that primary care physicians would be better off financially if they were capitated than if they were paid fee for service. If they received a fixed amount of money per health plan member per month, they’d have a guaranteed…
Read More2 tales of physician assistant burnout
For the first 12 years as a physician assistant, I thought provider burnout only happened to wusses, those better suited to working in health insurance or doctoring at a summer camp. Sure, I felt overwhelmed at times, but I planned to soldier on in clinical practice, happily serving my patients until retirement. That was before. …
Read MoreThe transition from resident to attending: Setting the stage for your new life and career
You’re finally at the point in your career that you’ve been waiting for! Training has been strenuous, and you have spent many years of your life readying yourself professionally for this moment. It is now time for you to transition from a resident to an attending physician. At this time, you may be tempted to…
Read More