Reflections on Medicine & Life
2 min read…I have read many books and articles about leadership over the last couple of years. In addition, I have attended webinars and workshops on culture change. I have observed leaders and tried to understand what they get right.
2 min read…In my last post, I wrote about how stigma affects our ability to blunt the opioid crisis in ways that we don’t usually consider. For example, almost a quarter of the pharmacies in the worst-hit counties in the
4 min read…Stigma about proven OUD (Opioid Use Disorder) treatments is a significant barrier to getting the opioid crisis under control. Stigma prevents patients from seeking treatment with Suboxone and methadone. And stigma prevents addiction care providers from using Suboxone,
5 min read…Breast cancer awareness month is upon us. Pink ribbons. Pink banners. Pink pro-sports uniforms. Pink everything. The message everywhere? Get screened regularly! How? Do your screening mammograms! This very public push for mammograms never warns that one in
2 min read…It’s Monday afternoon. I am at work. The phone rings. The caller ID says “Glenview Public Library.” That’s weird, I think. I had learned the previous weekend that we were unable to access some digital services at our
4 min read…A couple of months ago, the kids and I were driving up to northern Wisconsin for a week-long break from COVID-19 cabin fever. We had an invitation to stay at our friends’ lakeside cottage. We became friends with
7 min read…Most people are not surprised to learn that the kids and I are in counseling since their mother, my wife Uzma, died almost a year and a half ago. Some people are, however, surprised that a psychiatrist would
2 min read…I see a particular allegation thrown at people who write their own multiple opinions posts daily on social media, “Are you an expert on everything that you have to share your opinion on everything?” This question is a
2 min read…Do you want to understand what drives healthcare spending in the US? Then this study published in JAMA (March 2018) by Papinocolas, Woskie, and Jha is a must-read. If you would prefer a simplified summary of the study,
6 min read…Cancer didn’t just take my wife, Uzma. Many dreams died with her. Her solo aspirations and our shared ones. All went, poof! Come to think of it, these dreams died in 2017. By then, it was clear she