Doctors often spend more time in front of a computer than in front of the patient. How to get your doctor to pay attention.

When the Healthcare System Lets You Down Several years ago a promising baseball pitcher in his twenties was destined for stardom.  He had...

No one has a greater stake in your healthcare than you do.

Dr. Edward Creagan spent four decades at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, working as a cancer specialist and then helping to develop the...

The letter arrived out of the blue like a notice from the IRS about an upcoming audit. The letter went something like this: Dear Valued...

It really does not take much to make a difference in someone’s day, in someone’s life. Let me explain. About twenty years ago an...

I had the great privilege to address an audience of a thousand residents from my community who have been participating in a decade-long...

We can become numb by the relentless news cycle that can focus on the negative. But every once in a while, a brief sentence can change...

Jerry Maguire was a brash sports agent representing a player for the Arizona Cardinals, wide receiver Rod Tidwell, who demanded a lavish...

The phone call was completely unexpected. A colleague with whom I had trained was in town for the evaluation of a potentially serious...

Not too many decades ago, in the history of medicine, healthcare providers were culled from the ranks of the clergy. These practitioners,...

Almost 100 years ago, Harvard University enrolled several hundred individuals in a long-term study of why some people live longer than...

Having lived a somewhat nomadic existence in childhood because of family commitments, I understood the chaos and the emotional energy and...

Scenario 1: You’re in the exam room, sitting in an open-backed gown. You and your doctor have discussed your high blood pressure (stay on...

The recent statement from the family of President Jimmy Carter opens the door for a crucial conversation about end-of-life decisions for us.

Many of us can recall individuals who were destined for the Big Stage, the Big Room. These shining stars seemingly had that unique...

Once upon a time—and you know when I start with those four words, I’m taking you down a retrospective path—medicine reflected a sacred...

We live in a world of constant, unpredictable, intermittent inattention. We are bludgeoned and bombarded with a tsunami of digital...

A common medical term is sequela. You pronounce it like this: seh-QWEL-uh. And it means the after-effects of a disease. In other words, a...

When it comes to maintenance of our cars, we here in the Midwest take the annual winter checkup seriously. If the car does not start,...