The PMD Critical List: The Lies Doctors Tell

This week's list of must-read stories includes a look at the white lies physicians tell, the trouble with doctor/patient emails, and the ongoing Obamacare controversy.

• The Top 10 Lies Doctors Tell (Huffington Post)

A 20-year veteran of medical practice (and author, professional speaker, and certified life coach) offers up some of the more benign explanations doctors use to tell patients that they are human too. Some are humorous.

• Dorian Paskowitz, Doctor and Surfer Who Lived an Endless Summer (The New York Times)

RIP to a California physician dude whose life was a “relentless pursuit of happiness, personal meaning, and perfect waves.” A compelling Times obit tells a story of love of the ocean and medicine.

• How to Get Doctors to Email Their Patients (Forbes)

A new study finds that while medicine is slow to embrace email healthcare (just 10% of docs participate), it’s potentially the strongest communication tool for a satisfying patient-doctor relationship. But physicians must be paid for it.

• Why Obamacare Has Failed American Physicians (Fox News)

A devastating essay from one of the nation’s most respected TV doctors (a calm and thoughtful man) on the huge disappointment of Obamacare. Science not politics is the answer, he says.

• What Doctors Don't Know About LGBT Health (The Atlantic)

The American gay community is growing in power and number—something that must get the doctor’s attention. Here’s a Q&A with an American Association of Medical Colleges leader on their new care education guidelines.

• Doctors' Struggles with Tough Patient Conversations (NewsWorks.org)

It’s not only the patients who suffer from “bad news” in medicine. A new “Vital Talk” program finds that doctors must use their own emotion and be able to recognize it in patients to effect proper communication.

• 3 Books by Doctors on Greed, Empathy, and End-of-Life Care (Washington Post)

A careful review of 3 books by and about doctors: Being Mortal, Doctored, and Internal Medicine. For those physicians who want to read, but can’t do all 3—here’s a good sip of each.

• 5 Examples of Great Healthcare Management (Harvard Business Review)

A respected physician executive highlights 5 innovative health programs in London, California, Chicago, Minnesota, and Utah—none required major capital investment. Experimentation is imperative. “The more it hurts, the better,” he explains.

• The Lies That Are Central to Obamacare (New York Post)

A hard-hitting column that tells the about the cynicism and dishonesty needed to sell the Affordable Care Act. The words of MIT professor and Obamacare architect, Jonathan Gruber, are especially revealing.