1) There are many ways of "knowing cancer" (6/5/14)
All of us involved in confronting cancer in all its forms - specialist and primary care clinicians, advocates, patients, family and loved ones - know cancer in different ways, and none should be held up as inherently superior to any other.
2) The problem of pain (8/13/14)
Like many doctors, I have complicated feelings about prescribing for chronic pain. On one hand, I recognize that relieving pain has been a core responsibility of the medical profession for ages. On the other hand, deaths and emergency room visits from overdoses of prescription painkillers have skyrocketed over the past 25 years.
3) Don't do stupid sh*t in cancer screening (8/25/14)
Think twice before reflexively doing things to elderly patients that can't possibly help and, therefore, can only hurt. And keep in mind that electronic clinical decision support should never, ever substitute for a physician's brain.
4) Nurturing the next generation of diverse family physicians (7/21/14)
The good news is that family physicians are diversifying; the bad news is that Black and Latino physicians still have a long way to go to "catch up" to their numbers in the population. America's need for the next generation of diverse family physicians has never been greater.
5) Skip the annual pelvic examination? How about the whole checkup? (7/5/14)
As the U.S. faces a worsening shortage of primary care clinicians, are today's family physicians prepared to abandon annual pelvic examinations and well-adult checkups in general? (They should be.)
Think twice before reflexively doing things to elderly patients that can't possibly help and, therefore, can only hurt. And keep in mind that electronic clinical decision support should never, ever substitute for a physician's brain.
4) Nurturing the next generation of diverse family physicians (7/21/14)
The good news is that family physicians are diversifying; the bad news is that Black and Latino physicians still have a long way to go to "catch up" to their numbers in the population. America's need for the next generation of diverse family physicians has never been greater.
5) Skip the annual pelvic examination? How about the whole checkup? (7/5/14)
As the U.S. faces a worsening shortage of primary care clinicians, are today's family physicians prepared to abandon annual pelvic examinations and well-adult checkups in general? (They should be.)
If you have a personal favorite that isn't on this list, please let me know. Thank you for reading!