Medical

Introduction We are doctors. We were trained to heal, to bring relief, and on occasion, to guide patients and families through end-of-life challenges. Unfortunately, with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, places such as Italy have had to suffer from needing to make life-and-death decisions for patients simply due to insufficient resources. In Los Angeles,…

Before the age of modern understanding and drug development, HIV sparked fear, anxiety, and panic throughout the country. My eighth-grade science teacher was the first to teach me about HIV, a virus that makes so many mistakes in replicating itself that it confuses the host’s immune system with its mutations. So fascinated by this bizarre…

The coronavirus has certainly served to manifest our shared humanity and vulnerability.  As parents, many of us are facing substantial challenges in providing for our families, as we struggle to help our children with their schoolwork, all the while hoping we can return to some semblance of normalcy soon.  To continue to provide the security…

The pandemic has revised the triple aim framework of health care. The simultaneous triple pursuit of improving the patient experience of care, improving the health of populations, and reducing the per capita cost of health care is currently not possible. With widespread forced lockdowns, we are unable to provide the optimal patient care experience, the…

As Americans, we rarely question the authenticity or relevance of our constitution. Although segments are hotly debated, and parts are amended over time, the document stands as a light of legal and ethical truism. The foundation of our country and its revolutionary ideals served a purpose – to escape the grip and tyranny of the…

The scourge of COVID-19 is spreading. Thousands of Americans are dying. What can you do to help? Yes, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and donate masks to local hospitals. Also, talk to your loved ones about advance care planning. What is advance care planning? Advance care planning means contemplating and deciding the type of…

In the coronavirus era, I go most days to our neighborhood McDonald’s, where I purchase a cup of coffee and take it outside to a patio area where I sit and eat peanut butter crackers which I carry with me. Today as I stood in a short line inside the facility, with persons standing the…

Today, about 1.1 million people in the US are living with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus). Every year, almost 40,000 people are diagnosed with HIV. A diagnosis of HIV was once presumed to be fatal, and many lived in fear of transmitting the virus to others. This contributed to decades of stigma for those living with…