On Health,
Bioethics, and
Behavioral Science
As a physician and behavioral scientist at Duke University, my research and writing explore the quirks in human nature that influence our lives — the mixture of rational and irrational forces that affect our health, our happiness, and the way our society functions.
Latest Publications
Health Care in an Evolving Immigration Landscape — Providing Care while Upholding the Law
Many clinicians and healthcare provider organizations are struggling to figure out how to do their jobs with all the…
Integrating Out-of-Pocket Costs Into Shared Decision-Making for Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction
Led by the amazing Neal Dickert, cardiologist at Emory, we conducted an RCT of an intervention designed to promote…
Physician Gender and Patient Perceptions of Interpersonal and Technical Skills in Online Reviews
Do patients’ on-line physician reviews reveal gender bias? In a study led by the marvelous Dr. Farrah Madanay, we…
Out of Pocket Getting Out of Hand
In this NEJM Perspective, my (awesome) co-authors and I argue that we need to reduce costs, to patients and…
Are Students Ready to Run Student-Run Clinics?
With an outstanding student from Baylor College of Medicine, I co-authored an essay on some of the clinical, administrative,…
Talking About Suffering in the Intensive Care Unit
We were worried: that when ICU clinicians discuss patient “suffering” with patients’ family, they are using the emotionally powerful…
Latest Blog Posts
Why It’s Difficult For People With Chronic Pain To Gain Their Doctor’s Trust
Many people with chronic pain find themselves interacting with clinicians who do not seem to trust them. Why is…
To Uphold Campaign Promise, Dr. Oz Needs To Fix Medicare Drug Prices
During his campaign, President Trump promised to “end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices…
$10 Short? No Health Insurance For You
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare, millions of people receive generous subsidies to cover the cost of…
Complaining Of Chronic Pain Doesn’t Make You A Complainer
We all know what “a complainer” is: it’s a person who finds the dark side of everything, who turns…
Work Requirements For Safety Net Programs – They’re Not Working
Anyone who has raised kids knows what happens when you give them a monthly allowance without requiring any work…
People With Chronic Pain Deserve Better Than To Be Told There’s Nothing Wrong
I am going to be writing about chronic pain: diagnosis, treatment, mistreatment, etc, in upcoming posts. In my first…
Books
