"I hid her MyChart radiology report on purpose." I was shocked to hear the neurologist (Dr. A) tell me this after our patient had left the exam room. Dr. A is universally admired by my medical school class for both his teaching and his ability to connect deeply with patients; the waiting list to join him for weekly clinic runs a semester long.
My recent experience as a cancer patient has illuminated many things. It has shown me how our health care system is not standardized and how it sometimes makes patient care decisions based on financial incentives or convenience rather than patient preferences or best clinical practice. Take, for example, the topic of sedation.
Does drinking alcohol increase the risk for pancreatic cancer? Researchers have long suspected it does, but the evidence has remained inconsistent. Now, a global study of more than two million people is firming up the case that a link exists.
I recently wrote about the slow dismantling of the U.S. medical and scientific infrastructure. And just two weeks later, I'm sad to report it is about to get worse. Much worse.
The average middle-class American retires at age 62. Physicians, apparently, aren’t average. Twenty percent of practicing clinical physicians in America are older than 65 — and another 22% are between 55 and 64.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has stopped accepting federal funding for its programs and contracts, the medical society said Aug. 1. “Recent changes in federal funding laws and regulations significantly impact ACOG’s program goals, policy positions and ability to provide timely and evidence-based guidance and recommendations for care,” ACOG said in a statement.
I got into the car outside the bus station in Lowell, Massachusetts, where my father was waiting to pick me up. He looked nervous when he handed me an envelope. Inside was my medical school decision letter. I was accepted. We let out a cheer. Along with the acceptance letter was the projected cost of attendance: around $70,000 for the first year, climbing to nearly $90,000 by the fourth. I would need to borrow the entire sum.
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