Health Tip: Your Family Has a Medical History

Your doctor probably has asked you questions about your family history, since it may have a significant impact on your well-being. Read more

Health Tip: Be Proactive at Your Next Doctor Visit

(HealthDay News) — If you don’t go to the doctor very often, it’s important to make the most of every visit.
It’s your opportunity to talk to your doctor about any health problems, or questions that you have.
Here are conversation pointers for your next medical visit, as recommended by the American Academy of Family Physicians:

Bring up [...]

Health Tip: Be Proactive at Your Next Doctor Visit

(HealthDay News) — If you don’t go to the doctor very often, it’s important to make the most of every visit.
It’s your opportunity to talk to your doctor about any health problems, or questions that you have.
Here are conversation pointers for your next medical visit, as recommended by the American Academy of Family Physicians:

Bring up [...]

Could Anger at the System Bring You and Your Doc Together Online?

By Scott MowbrayPatients and health-care providers are all over the Internet: Patients talk to each other and organize into disease-specific networks, while HMOs build websites that allow members to check billing, look up doctors, and sometimes upload medical test results and other data.
According to Web observer Clay Shirky, however, there’s a huge divide between patients [...]

Could Anger at the System Bring You and Your Doc Together Online?

By Scott MowbrayPatients and health-care providers are all over the Internet: Patients talk to each other and organize into disease-specific networks, while HMOs build websites that allow members to check billing, look up doctors, and sometimes upload medical test results and other data.
According to Web observer Clay Shirky, however, there’s a huge divide between patients [...]

Are Doctors Short on Empathy?

By Dena Rifkin, MD

A number of news outlets have picked up an article, published in last week’s Archives of Internal Medicine, which suggests that physicians “miss” opportunities to express empathy and compassion in discussions with cancer patients. The researchers noted 384 “empathetic opportunities,” but only about 10% of those received an empathetic response.The article was [...]

Are Doctors Short on Empathy?

By Dena Rifkin, MD

A number of news outlets have picked up an article, published in last week’s Archives of Internal Medicine, which suggests that physicians “miss” opportunities to express empathy and compassion in discussions with cancer patients. The researchers noted 384 “empathetic opportunities,” but only about 10% of those received an empathetic response.The article was [...]

Most Patients Don’t Want to See Me

By Dena Rifkin, MD

I’m the only person in my immediate family who works in the medical profession. And when I visited with my extended family last weekend, I was reminded of how much they dislike even thinking about medicine.

My older relatives have reached their 70s with relatively few health problems and only see [...]

Most Patients Don’t Want to See Me

By Dena Rifkin, MD

I’m the only person in my immediate family who works in the medical profession. And when I visited with my extended family last weekend, I was reminded of how much they dislike even thinking about medicine.

My older relatives have reached their 70s with relatively few health problems and only see [...]

When Doctors Don’t Have All the Answers

By Dena Rifkin, MD

I recently ran into a colleague who was returning from an internal medicine review course. These expensive and elaborate affairs consist of a week or so of lectures, tips, and new techniques, usually taught by well-known academics. Many doctors take these courses before taking the medical board exam in their specialty, and [...]

When Doctors Don’t Have All the Answers

By Dena Rifkin, MD

I recently ran into a colleague who was returning from an internal medicine review course. These expensive and elaborate affairs consist of a week or so of lectures, tips, and new techniques, usually taught by well-known academics. Many doctors take these courses before taking the medical board exam in their specialty, and [...]

Health Tip: Be a Smart Patient

(HealthDay News) — Although your doctor and other health-care professionals do their best to help you stay safe, there are things you can do to prevent problems.
The Cleveland Clinic offers these suggestions on how to be a smart patient:

If you have a question or concern about your health or treatment, talk to your doctor about [...]

Health Tip: Be a Smart Patient

(HealthDay News) — Although your doctor and other health-care professionals do their best to help you stay safe, there are things you can do to prevent problems.
The Cleveland Clinic offers these suggestions on how to be a smart patient:

If you have a question or concern about your health or treatment, talk to your doctor about [...]

A Doctor on Vacation: Diagnosing Disease Wherever She Goes

By Dena Rifkin, MD

As I prepared for a vacation recently, I realized that it’s getting harder and harder to really “check out” of any kind of job these days. The ubiquitousness of BlackBerries, Wi-Fi, cell phones, and other devices designed to keep us forever in touch with each other make it impossible to really escape. [...]

A Doctor on Vacation: Diagnosing Disease Wherever She Goes

By Dena Rifkin, MD

As I prepared for a vacation recently, I realized that it’s getting harder and harder to really “check out” of any kind of job these days. The ubiquitousness of BlackBerries, Wi-Fi, cell phones, and other devices designed to keep us forever in touch with each other make it impossible to really escape. [...]

Saying Good-Bye to Patients

By Dena Rifkin, MD

Next month I’ll be finishing the final year of my fellowship in kidney disease and transitioning into my new role as attending physician, with mainly in-hospital rather than outpatient responsibilities. So I’m saying good-bye to some patients I’ve been seeing in clinic for the past two years.
These patients won’t be left scrambling [...]

Saying Good-Bye to Patients

By Dena Rifkin, MD

Next month I’ll be finishing the final year of my fellowship in kidney disease and transitioning into my new role as attending physician, with mainly in-hospital rather than outpatient responsibilities. So I’m saying good-bye to some patients I’ve been seeing in clinic for the past two years.
These patients won’t be left scrambling [...]

How Doctors Learn From Patients

By Dena Rifkin, MD I need to learn a new technique for inserting a large intravenous line. As a resident, I learned how to place these lines (used for medications and dialysis) in the groin or neck by locating the arterial pulse with my fingers, looking at the anatomical landmarks nearby, and then calculating in [...]

How Doctors Learn From Patients

By Dena Rifkin, MD I need to learn a new technique for inserting a large intravenous line. As a resident, I learned how to place these lines (used for medications and dialysis) in the groin or neck by locating the arterial pulse with my fingers, looking at the anatomical landmarks nearby, and then calculating in [...]

Go Ahead, Email Your Doctor…As Long As It’s Not Serious

A near-death experience taught me the perils of online communication with my patientsby Dena Rifkin, MD
I read a news item today reporting that only one in three U.S. doctors communicate with patients via email. We doctors were accused of lagging behind other professionals in online communication.
Well, I am one of the physicians already communicating with [...]