Deborah Millians of Athens was feeling the pinch of social distancing. With her 11-year-old son Charles in need of a follow-up urology appointment regarding complications from an overactive bladder, an in-office visit proved daunting. It would call for an hour-plus trek to Atlanta and pulling her child away from school work, among other logistical challenges. Using the ... Continue Reading
Clinician-Patient Communications
By Hellen K. Kelley
One of the most important keys to a successful relationship between doctor and patient is good communication. Effective communication on the physician’s part involves excellent listening skills, the knack for ferreting out pertinent details and the ability to share information with and educate the patient. Atlanta Medicine spoke with two local physicians who have expertise in ... Continue Reading
Behind the Stethoscope: The Healing Power of Compassion
By Carrie Stinson, M.D., Pediatric Hospitalist
I walked into the room with a smile on my face. I was about to discharge a 3-day-old baby to go home with his parents. I talked to the new mom and dad about what they should expect over the next few days at home with a newborn. As I examined the patient and placed my stethoscope on his chest, I knew that the course of the morning had changed. He had a loud murmur and ... Continue Reading
Solving Physician Burnout
Operational improvements are more important than resiliency. By Rob Schreiner, M.D. Dr. Carl Goolsby remembers those days. No matter how early he’d arrive at the office to prepare his charts for the day’s patients or remain in the office after the patients and staff had left, he couldn’t stay ahead of the workload. He was well-trained, with a disciplined work ethic ... Continue Reading
PCOS: Alternative Management and Long-Term Risks
By Desiree’ M. McCarthy-Keith, MD, MPH Most practitioners are able to recognize the classic features of PCOS: obesity, androgen excess and irregular menstrual cycles. However, many patients will have few features or a subtler presentation. Despite varying degrees of the condition, all women with PCOS are at risk for metabolic and endocrine sequelae. Women’s health providers ... Continue Reading
Losing Prized Physicians to Burnout
By Charles Wilmer, M.D., FACC, FSCAI I recently returned from the Medical Association of Georgia’s summer legislative seminar in Blairsville, where we had 75 physicians interacting with 37 of our legislators to better understand the political climate and opportunities for growth and improvement in patient care. Some of these individuals were over 60 years of age and yet still ... Continue Reading
Narrative Medicine – Letting our Patients Tell The Story
By Bob Climko, MD, MBA Many years ago, my medical school roommate invited me to dinner at the home of his mother and father, both of whom survived the horrors of Auschwitz. After a delicious meal, they began sharing stories about life in “the camp.” I asked them later why they had opened up to me. Their response was that I was one of the few people they thought could bear ... Continue Reading
5 Best Practices for Treating Your Muslim Patients
By Lisa Perry-Gilkes, MD, FACS With a Muslim population reported to be a quarter million and with 35 mosques in the metro area, Atlanta ranks as the city with the sixth largest Muslim population in the country. Cultural sensitivity in caring for the Muslim patients requires a basic understanding of Islam. Islam, which in Arabic is derived from the word salam, or peace, is ... Continue Reading
Health Literacy: What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You
By Lisa Perry-Gilkes, MD, FACS TAHW OUY T’NOD WONK DLOUC HURT OUY! To some of our patients, the above headline is how our documents are perceived. Unscrambled, it reads: What you don’t know could hurt you. In keeping with the best practices to improve patient care, we need to take into consideration our patients’ ability to understand their treatment ... Continue Reading
New Northside Hospital Cherokee to open May 6
Northside Hospital Cherokee’s long-awaited replacement hospital will open for patients on Saturday, May 6, 2017. The new hospital is located at 450 Northside Cherokee Boulevard in Canton, off I-575 at the Ga. Hwy 20 exit. “This is a huge move forward for Cherokee county and the surrounding areas,” said Billy Hayes, CEO of Northside Hospital Cherokee. “Our new hospital is ... Continue Reading
The Future of Healthcare
By Helen K. Kelley The landscape of healthcare in America is facing rapid change, from the way care is delivered to a renewed focus on the physician-patient relationship. Here, three Atlanta-area physicians weigh in on what they believe the future of healthcare holds for physicians and patients. Shared decision-making, technology help drive healthy ... Continue Reading
Key Issues Before the State Board of Workers’ Compensation
By Judge Frank R. McKay and Judge Elizabeth D. Gobeil A man fell 18 feet off a roof, crushing both ankles and suffering a fractured lumbar vertebrae and a dislocated left shoulder. While tragic, the silver lining for this individual was that his employer had workers’ compensation insurance, and the prompt medical treatment provided to this worker facilitated a nearly full ... Continue Reading
Drug-Free Workplace? Medical marijuana and the workers’ compensation system
By Robert Howell, M.D. The marijuana plant contains more than 80 different compounds, collectively referred to as cannabinoids. Among these, the main psychoactive compound is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It exerts its euphoric effect through activation of the CB1 receptor found within the central nervous system. Another cannabinoid, Cannabidiol (CBD), binds ... Continue Reading
Is a Workers’ Compensation Practice Right for You?
What you need to know to develop a successful and rewarding practice By Snehal Dalal, M.D. Successfully diagnosing, treating and returning workers’ compensation (WC) patients can be a rewarding part of a physician’s practice. However, not all of us are meant to take care of these type of cases. There must be a commitment on the part of the provider to give ... Continue Reading
Medical Residency: Keeping Residents in Georgia
By Helen K. Kelley Doctor shortages are critical throughout the country. To address this growing problem in Georgia, educational institutions, health systems, legislators and medical organizations are working to increase the number of residencies offered to medical school graduates. More Opportunity “Georgia is in a ‘world of hurt’ for having enough physicians. In ... Continue Reading
