A few summers ago during a week-long vacation, I started playing a mind game. In the mornings, I would sit outside on a comfortable deck...
A doctor puts his mind to mindfulness
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Articles in Washington Post
His wife is ill. He’s a doctor. Isn’t he supposed to know what to do? – Washington Post
Two weeks after my wife has a hysterectomy, she begins experiencing fevers that rise and spike each evening: 99.2, then 100.7, then 101.5....
What should doctors do to combat childhood obesity? – Washington Post
Lying in a hospital bed, my seriously obese patient could barely see her swollen and odorous right foot over her abdominal fat. The foot...
Medical errors are hard for doctors to admit, but it’s wise to apologize to patients – Washington Post
In 2007, I published a story in my local paper in which I confessed to having made a medical error years earlier. I’d mistakenly...
‘Lincoln’ rekindles equality – Washington Post
On Thanksgiving weekend, with family and friends, I watched Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece “Lincoln.” It was a history lesson on racial...
Doctors in private practices are now joining hospital staffs – Washington Post
Fifteen years ago, I proudly hung a sign outside my office with my name followed by “MD.” I had started my own business. A small private...
When terminally ill patients ask how long they have, doctors find it hard to say – Washington Post
In January, when my close friend’s lymph node biopsy came back as a rare form of T-cell lymphoma, I scoured the scientific literature....
Diwali at the White House – Washington Post
Thursday evening my teenage daughter asked me to help her review for an AP U.S. Government exam on the Bill of Rights. That she was...
False positives show need to adjust expectations for cancer screening tests – Washington Post
Several years ago, during an annual mammogram, my wife, who is in her 40s, was told a mass had been found in one of her breasts. Anxious...
Accepting death is difficult for patients and doctors, but it needs to be done – Washington Post
My 64-year-old patient with terminal cancer and less than six months to live wanted to go to Oregon. He was contemplating assisted...
Intensive care units grow more friendly to patients’ families at some hospitals – Washington Post
Not long ago, when my father was about to undergo a heart procedure, I hinted to the cardiologist, a colleague, that I wanted to be there,...
Doctors often struggle to show compassion while dealing with patients – Washington Post
I was standing at my patient’s bedside. Mike Venata was having chills with a temperature of 103. Sweat covered his balding scalp like dew,...
Medical tourism can pose problems, but savings are welcome – Washington Post
Medical tourism Re: “The future of American medicine may be offshore” [Apr. 5]: The interest in getting much less costly health care...
Letters to Medical Tourism Washington Post story
Over the week I am received numerous emails about how many of you have received low cost high quality care in Mexico, India, and South...
My homes – Memphis and Indore – quite similar
Little while ago I wrote about my trip to Indore, India and compared it with the problems and issues we face in Memphis. HERE IT IS:...
Medical tourism draws growing numbers of Americans to seek health care abroad
When my father had a toothache, he saw a dentist in Boston who recommended a root canal and dental crown costing about $2,000. He decided...
Hospitals’ focus on patient safety hasn’t eliminated preventable deaths – Washington Post
Published: December 20, 2010 Some years ago, I got a call at 3 a.m. from the hospital because a patient of mine had spiked a high fever....
Force that bonds us is stronger than what divides – Commercial Appeal
On an unusually quiet Sunday afternoon in the intensive care unit, Memphian Kristen Sharp lay in bed attached to a heart pump. Her tightly...
More rules are needed to curb drug firms’ attempts to influence physicians – Washington Post
Nearly a decade ago when I was newly settled into private practice in Memphis, a drug representative for a new and powerful antibiotic...
Even with malpractice insurance, doctors opt for expensive, defensive medicine – Washington Post
Some months ago, the receptionist in my clinic handed me a registered letter. The name of the sender seemed familiar. "Dear Sir," the...
When a patient says she wants to sue me … – Washington Post
Even with malpractice insurance, doctors opt for expensive, defensive medicine Some months ago, the receptionist in my clinic handed me a...
Bundled payments might cut hospital costs without reducing quality of care – Washington Post
A decade and a half ago, when I started my solo practice, I would say to my routine HIV patients, "Let's see you back in three months." I...
With Swine Flu Returning, Families Can Reduce Risk of Transmission – Washington Post
Last winter, a few months before the first outbreak of H1N1 flu, my 13-year-old became ill, first with a cough and runny nose, and then...
For Doctors, Rationing Care Is Standard Practice – Washington Post
Published: August 04, 2009 A seasoned pulmonologist shakes his head. "Let's face it, we already ration care." And, pausing ever so...
Even ‘Snake Oil’ Can Help Patients Heal – Washington Post
Published: March 17, 2009 "Our conference was being held over lunch, but Pat, a middle-aged health-care consultant, did not touch a bite...
Want to Live a Bit Longer? Speak Up. – Washington Post
Published: February 17, 2009 "Did you know that women live longer than men?" I asked my wife. Of course she did -- and not just because,...
A Skeptic Becomes A True Believer – Washington Post
Published: February 10, 2009 I was skeptical when my hospital embarked several years ago on an initiative to reduce the number of...
Once Detected, HIV Can Be Manageable – Washington Post
Published: December 09, 2008 Ten years ago, an intelligent, reserved software engineer -- a woman with the complexion of Halle Berry and...
Patients Can Join the Fight Against Flu Without Firing a Shot – Washington Post
Published: November 25, 2008 Last month at a luncheon marking International Infection Prevention Week at the National Press Club, some...
Elective Surgery Is One Thing, Elective Politics Another – Washington Post
Why the Presidential Race Should Skirt The Doctor's OfficePublished: October 28, 2008 A few weeks ago, as I was making rounds on the...
Equal Treatment for the Uninsured? Don’t Count on It. – Washington Post
Lack of Compensation Can Tempt Doctors to Tailor Their Care to a Patient's CoveragePublished: October 14, 2008 When I walked into the...
Hospital Clash Puts Patients in the Middle
Published: September 16, 2008 From the patient's point of view, doctors and hospital officials can seem to be a monolithic medical power...
Hand Washing: Time Well Spent – Washington Post
We Need Carrots and Sticks to Reduce Infection RatesPublished: August 05, 2008 One morning on hospital rounds, I saw a physician colleague...
Family Adjusts to Rules of the Road – Washington Post
Published: July 15, 2008 Last summer, my oldest daughter, Sapna, passed a multiple-choice driver's exam, secured a learner's permit and...
Doctors Can Be Doubters – Washington Post
My patient is an elderly man with end-stage congestive heart failure, kidney failure and now an infected dialysis line, and he is unlikely...
A Doctor’s Viewpoint Changes When the Patient Is His Father – Washington Post
Published: April 15, 2008 Each morning as I head for my morning rounds, I routinely hurry through the hallway alongside the cardiac...
Honestly, I Could Not Help Him – Washington Post
Patient's Routine Visit Becomes An Ethical Challenge for a DoctorPublished: March 04, 2008 My patient had come for a routine doctor visit....
How I Learned to Treat My Bias – Washington Post
Published: April 15, 2007 At our hospital in Tennessee not long ago, I saw my picture on the hallway message board alongside those of...