Healthcare Musings For November 10, 2023

Healthcare Musings For November 10, 2023

by | Nov 10, 2023 | Featured Post

November 10, 2023 Dear Interested Readers,   Going Strong After 10 Years    Ten years ago this month I resumed writing these letters. I wrote my last weekly letter to my colleagues at Harvard Vanguard on October 25, 2013, after I announced that I would be...
Healthcare Musings For November 3, 2023

Healthcare Musings For November 3, 2023

by | Nov 3, 2023 | A personal history, Christian Nationalism, Conflict in Gaza, Crossing the Quality Chasm, Don Berwick, Dr. Paul Solomon, Dr. Robert Ebert, Featured Post, Gun Violence, Harvard Community Health Plan, Harvard Vanguard Medical, Illiberalism, MAGA, Mass shooting in Lewiston, Mike Dukakis, Physician Council of HCHP, Putin's war in Ukraine, Speaker Mike Johnson, The sixth extinction

November 3, 2023 Dear Interested Readers,   After Comments on Recent Events, My Story Continues    I have been amazed by how long it has taken me to tell my story. The truth is, I am grateful that I have had something to write about other than the...
Healthcare Musings For October 27, 2023

Healthcare Musings For October 27, 2023

by | Oct 27, 2023 | A dysfunctional House, Dr. Paul Solomon, Featured Post, Gun Violence as a Public Health Problem, Harvard Community Health Plan, Lewiston, medical group politics, Moral Injury, Nicholas Kristof, Physician Council of HCHP, Social Determinants of Health, Speaker Mike Johnson, The conflict between Israel and Hamas, The Tax Law of 1986

October 27, 2023 Dear Interested Readers,   A Very Bad Week   Late Wednesday night I turned off my computer after having written most of the first draft of this letter to you. Most evenings my wife and I watch the local 11 PM news for a summary of the...
Healthcare Musings For October 20, 2023

Healthcare Musings For October 20, 2023

by | Oct 20, 2023 | A dysfunctional House, A personal history, Dr. Geoffrey Hirsovitz, Dr. Joe Dorsey, Dr. Mark Stockman, Featured Post, Harvard Community Health Plan, Mary Lou Retton, Parker Hill Medical Center, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Professional Satisfaction, The conflict in Gaza, The moral sensibilities of medical practice

October 20, 2023 Dear Interested Readers,   Back To My Story   Last week I took a break from the story of my professional development to comment on the conflict between Hamas and Isreal and to review a New England Journal of Medicine article entitled “A...
Healthcare Musings For October 13, 2023

Healthcare Musings For October 13, 2023

by | Oct 13, 2023 | A dysfunctional House, Atrius Health, burnout and professional fulfillment, Dr. Neil Berman, Empathy, Featured Post, Francis Peabody and "The Care of the Patient", Moral Injury, Social Determinants of Health, The conflict between Israel and Hamas, The New Hampshire presidential primary, The Personal Cost of Clinical Objectivity

October 13, 2023 Dear Interested Readers,   A Break From My Story   It has been a disturbing week. The events in Israel and Gaza surprised and horrified us all. One thing that I have come to appreciate listening to commentaries and to Secretary of State...
Healthcare Musings For October 6, 2023

Healthcare Musings For October 6, 2023

by | Oct 6, 2023 | A personal history, Ambulatory practice, Chaos in the House, Dean Robert Ebert, Dr. Joe Dorsey, Featured Post, Harvard Community Health Plan, Kevin McCarthy, Moral Injury, Social Determinants of Health

October 6, 2023 Dear Interested Readers, Evolution of Ideas and the Environment   As I pick up my story this week, I am among the many who are shaking their head in dismay over what has happened to Speaker Kevin McCarthy amid the disharmony in the House of...
Healthcare Musings For September 29, 2023

Healthcare Musings For September 29, 2023

by | Sep 29, 2023 | A story from my life, America's defective social safety net, Balint Groups, Featured Post, Harvard Community Health Plan, Harvard Medical School, Health in America, Nicholas Kristof, Politics and Healthcare, Social Determinants of Health

September 29, 2023 Dear Interested Readers,   A Hybrid Letter   For several weeks, I have suspended most of my comments about current issues in healthcare, healthcare policy, current politics, and policies that impact our health. In lieu of those usual...
Healthcare Musings For September 22, 2023

Healthcare Musings For September 22, 2023

by | Sep 22, 2023 | A story from my life, Ambulatory practice, Barbara Taylor, Crossing the Quality Chasm, Dr. Joe Dorsey, Dr. Lee Younger, Dr. Sigrid Tischler, Featured Post, Harvard Community Health Plan, Moral Injury, The Triple Aim

September 22, 2023 Dear Interested Readers,   Getting Started At Harvard Community Health Plan   If you have taken a vacation from reading the Healthcare Musings letter for the past two months, you may not know that I have been on an autobiographical...
Healthcare Musings For September 15, 2023

Healthcare Musings For September 15, 2023

by | Sep 15, 2023 | A personal history, A story from my life, Dr. Bernard Lown, Dr. David Littman, Dr. Harold Levine, Dr. Marshall Wolfe, Dr. Peter Cohn, Dr. Richard Gorlin, Featured Post, Fellowship training, Harvard Community Health Plan, Harvard Medical School, medical education, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Primary Care, Professional Satisfaction, Professionalism

September 15, 2023 Dear Interested Readers,   My Story Continues   My medical training occurred in the shadow of the Vietnam Era draft. Early on, college students were protected as long as they were enrolled. The result was that there was social inequity....
Healthcare Musings For September 8, 2023

Healthcare Musings For September 8, 2023

by | Sep 8, 2023 | A personal history, A story from my life, Burnout, Career development, Climate Crisis, emergency room work, Featured Post, Global Warming, Kim Stanley Robinson, lethal wet bulb temps, Lowell General Hospital, Medical Professionalism, professional fulfillment

September 8, 2023  Dear Interested Readers,   Moving On With My Story   In retrospect, internships are a transition from mostly watching as a medical student to progressive hands-on doing. The residency years were a surprise to me because I had to back away...