The Podcast by KevinMD

"An increasing number of institutions are relying on telemedicine to continue delivering care to patients in lieu of typical outpatient visits in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine has been lauded as a potential equalizer in health care access. Indeed, it allows for safe and easy access to medical professionals. It especially benefits patients with transportation issues or those seeking specialty care from far away. Some pitfalls such as reimbursement issues and lack of physical exam notwithstanding, telemedicine overall is a helpful service at a time like this. However, telemedicine does not benefit all patients equally. In fact, it exposes and amplifies the existing health care disparity in a subgroup of patients." Wenjing Zong is a pediatric gastroenterology fellow. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Telemedicine in COVID-19: Disparities still exist." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/telemedicine-in-covid-19-disparities-still-exist.html)

"While our bodies have been a bastion of the heart and soul of medicine, a group of our peers thought it was acceptable to diminish the capabilities of our bodies to pictures on social media. They thought our ability to be exceptional physicians was inversely proportional to the number of pictures that showed us holding a drink or wearing a bikini. Our bodies do so much more than just practice medicine. What we choose to do with our bodies in our own free time should not become part of an investigation that is packaged as peer-reviewed research. Our bodies may have tattoos, ride motorcycles, or compete in pole fitness competitions for sport. None of that impacts our practice of medicine negatively. It's past time we start celebrating the strength of our bodies and hold accountable those who try to negate our accomplishments with an ill-perceived attitude of sexism and misogyny." Jessica Pearce is an obstetrician-gynecologist. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Let us talk about the underlying situation of #medbikini." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/let-us-talk-about-the-underlying-situation-of-medbikini.html)

Meet the physician who has written multiple widely-shared articles on KevinMD. How does writing change minds and bring people together? Why is humor such an important part of her pieces? Explore how her articles come together, and why writing has made her a better physician. Rada Jones is an emergency physician and can be reached at her self-titled site, RadaJonesMD, and on Twitter @jonesrada. She is the author of Overdose. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "How masks are like your underwear." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/08/how-masks-are-like-your-underwear.html)

"I wonder what keeps us physicians going? What makes us show up to work every day? Even though it might sound clichéd, for most of us, it's the love for medicine; it's the love to be there and still be able to make a difference. And maybe money too. Here I have some self-help tips/tools that could potentially help us through these tough times. We cannot change our surroundings. We can certainly adapt." Manju Mahajan is a family physician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "To better take care of patients, we need to take care of ourselves." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/08/to-better-take-care-of-patients-we-need-to-take-care-of-ourselves.html)

"What is SEO? In short, it is the process of optimizing content found online in order to help it be seen by those searching for the information found in that content. It used to be that people would just stuff their poorly written, short, and low-quality blog posts with their keyword, and they would rank for that keyword. Long gone are those days, and it's a good thing because when it comes to health care and medical content, that kind of content has no place being seen. If we all start putting out quality medical content, soon there will be no room on page one for all of the noise that not only provides low-quality information but can actually put people's lives and health in danger." Andrea Paul is a physician-entrepreneur and can be found on Instagram and Facebook. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Search engine optimization for physicians." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/09/how-the-google-algorithm-update-helps-doctor-written-content-rank-higher.html)

"Physicians are advocates of health. This must include our own. Physicians identify threats to health. This must include those that threaten our own – burnout is proven a grave threat. Physicians seek, prescribe, and perform curative treatments. We have the treatment for burnout available – we must prescribe it for each other and seek it for ourselves. Physicians advocate for vaccination as prevention. We have the inoculation for burnout – we must make it widely accessible and encourage collective participation to gain the necessary herd immunity. We have available to us a single solution that fulfills both prevention and cure for the pandemic of burnout – this single treatment will sustain the workforce that is needed to navigate the other pandemics we face. Coaching empowers us to continue our work in advocating for health, identifying and eliminating threats with our compassion, expertise, empathy, and lives intact. We must lead by example, ask for the help we need, use prevention as medicine, and emerge together immune to the toxicities threatening our profession and eradicate the disease of burnout through coaching." Amelia L. Bueche is an osteopathic physician and founder, This Osteopathic Life. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "How coaching prevents and treats physician burnout." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/how-coaching-prevents-and-treats-physician-burnout.html)

"We can't un-bungle our nation's COVID-19 response. Political leaders acted too slowly; health agencies committed unforced errors with testing kits and, amid the confusion, an information fog settled over the land. Americans remain afraid, perplexed, and chronically misinformed (despite wall-to-wall coronavirus coverage across the leading cable news programs and print publications). To counter the uncertainty, any plan to get us out of the coronavirus crisis must first acknowledge and broadly communicate three immutable, scientific facts." Robert Pearl is a plastic surgeon and author of Mistreated: Why We Think We're Getting Good Health Care–And Why We're Usually Wrong. He can be reached on Twitter @RobertPearlMD. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "3 coronavirus facts Americans must know before returning to work and school." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/05/3-coronavirus-facts-americans-must-know-before-returning-to-work-and-school.html)

"Eventually, this thankfully passed. Now, almost three years later, I know that this loss will always be with us. Miriam was beautiful, she was our only girl, she was perfect for our family, and she's always missing. Still, my memories of being in the hospital are incredibly sad but also peaceful. In part, this is due to the incredible support and love we got from our family, friends, rabbi, and community. But in a big part, this is due to the clear and honest way we got Miriam's diagnosis and the support, concern, and compassion from her medical team." Sophia Zilber is a patient advocate. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "Getting a terminal diagnosis for my baby." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/01/getting-a-terminal-diagnosis-for-my-baby.html)

"Setting: An impersonal, windowless conference room within a hospital Characters: A nurse in charge (NIC), a department chair (DC) and me (ME) NIC: Thank you for joining us to discuss the report you made of unprofessional behavior in the operating room. We'd like to start by letting you know that in this institution, we have a culture of informality. When I first got here, I found it unsettling that doctors were called by their first names in meetings. DC: Yes, this culture was also surprising to me. At [Ivory tower institution 1], where I trained, no one would have ever called a physician by their first name! And at [Ivory tower institution 2] where I worked before moving here, no one would have dreamed of calling a doctor by their first name. Can you imagine someone calling Dr. [Worldfamous Surgeon at Ivory tower institution 2] Steve? It never would have happened! He would have been so angry! But here, I get called by my first name pretty regularly. I've gotten used to it, and now I don't even mind. ME: We're not here because someone called me by my first name. DC: What do you mean?" Sarah M. Temkin is a gynecology-oncology physician. She shares her story and discusses her KevinMD article, "A discussion about unprofessional behavior: a play in 1 act." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/08/a-discussion-about-unprofessional-behavior-a-play-in-1-act.html)

"Will the unfavorable regulatory environment permit telehealth to flourish? Perforce we're beginning to see a relaxation of restrictions that have hitherto obstructed progress. Recently, federal officials approved interstate licensing, thereby prompting greater telehealth conversion, utilization, and expansion. Medicare's 1135 Waiver is also encouraging, and, in as much as it serves the same ends, the Drug Enforcement Administration's leave to prescribe via telemedicine without a prior in-person meeting is a similarly promising development. In light of circumstances, anything that might reduce cost, improve delivery, and wrest control from bloated, dysfunctional health care systems is viable." David Hanekom is an internal medicine physician. He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "Telehealth is the future but it is obscured by a dismal present." (https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2020/07/telehealth-is-the-future-but-it-is-obscured-by-a-dismal-present.html)