Anyone can win at poker when dealt a royal flush. But what can you do when the cards you are dealt don’t appear winning at all? My answer: Make the best of what you have. Recently I learned of a colleague who sustained a broken back in an accident. He continues to work, wearing a [...]
The holidays are a time for sharing gifts and for hopes of a brighter year ahead. I want to thank those people who follow me on social media and who have taken the time to write to me. Your reaching out has been a real gift to me in my retirement from clinical practice. One [...]
“Physicians can exert their influence in a health care environment to put the patient-physician relationship at the center of the enterprise. Working with middle-market employers (between 200-2,000 employees), some companies pair bold doctors with innovative employers to bring exceptional value to employee health benefits. There are no pre-authorizations for medical decisions, but doctors are held [...]
“Take it or leave it” is not negotiation but coercion. Physicians have been subject to this tactic for much too long. As an ophthalmologist in clinical practice for nearly four decades, I experienced too often what a recent author on KevinMD described as a one-sided arrangement with a health insurance company. “Here is the fee [...]
https://www.startengine.com/vxtra-health My threefold reasons are what drive me. Help Rebuild Trust I want to help rebuild trust in healthcare, starting with the patient-physician relationship. I believe that any model for healthcare reform should begin there. Unfortunately, health insurance companies have highjacked healthcare, making it very difficult for doctors and nurses to do what they do [...]
“We can’t sit in the stands – we have to get messy and play on the field.” The casual observer, the season ticket holder, the player, and the coach have very different levels of knowledge, skill, and passion for a professional sport. The casual observer may be confused, not even understanding the fundamentals of the [...]
By Paul Pender, MD The surgeon becomes the surgical patient. That was my summary thought after discussing my vision problem with my former partner, an ophthalmologist well versed in treating cataracts. Despite having performed eye surgery on thousands of patients in the course of my own professional career, the “privilege” of being on the other [...]
Paul Pender, MD, Vxtra Health Director of Digital Health Communications Recently I heard my primary care physician compare the stress and frustration of her hospital-based electronic medical record (EMR) to that of COVID, and she said that her EMR system was worse! After the shock wore off, I attempted to understand what that meant from [...]
Changing direction once established is not easy, but it can be rewarding. I recently read the essay on KevinMD from a physician who shifted gears to her own business after some discouraging experiences in “the system.” During her residency, her attending physician asked her what her purpose was in becoming a physician. To her credit, [...]
(The following Letter to the Editor was submitted on December 21, 2020.) The December 15, 2020 edition of the JAMA Network has seven articles on the subject of trust. The challenge for physicians post-pandemic is to focus on what we can accomplish as individuals and on what goals for our profession, and for society in [...]