The United States remains in the throes of an escalating drug overdose crisis. Data show that overdoses increased yet again in 2019, and are now soaring amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which ...

In California, we’ve counted ourselves among the lucky this past week if the worst we’ve had to cope with is a thick layer of smoke transforming our daytime skies into eerie orange hellscapes. Compared with the trauma of losing a home or loved one, having to

"My dear, here we must run as fast as we can, just to stay in place. And if you wish to go anywhere, you must run twice as fast as that." - Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland This is the only quote which I clearly recall from my early childhood, and it took me several years to fully understand its meaning. It is truly universally applicable, and physicians are not exempt—I believe most of us are undeniably permanently running at least twice as fast, attempting to contribute to the (r)evolution of medicine, and also not lag behind. ...

As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc—infecting more than 33 million people globally—it has also caused significant disruptions in eye health services, with a particular emphasis on ophthalmologic care for cataracts. This disruption is alarming, especially since untreated cataracts are the

It’s the middle of the month, and rent is almost due again. An estimated 30-40 million people are at risk of eviction in the next several months—and

Part 1 of this blog post discussed some of the empty promises in the United States to make #BlackLivesMatter, as well as the types of policy changes needed to move beyond surface-level action. Today, we’ll focus on what specifically cities, companies, and other institutions can do. What can our cities do to dismantle structural racism? There has been a fair amount of coverage ...

As we seek justice for the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and the long list of Black victims of police violence; as we grapple with the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in Hispanic, Black, and Indigenous communities; and as we acknowledge the tremendous toll of

As COVID-19 devastates lives throughout the world, the inequities experienced by transgender and gender-diverse individuals have become further illuminated. The ...

He’s young. Just 49 years old. A long life ahead of him. He was hospitalized a week ago and doing okay initially on the medical floor. After his saturations were consistently in the 80s on the highest level of supplemental oxygen, he needed to be intubated. We asked him if he wanted to call his family before intubation, just like we do with all our COVID patients… because we know it might be the last time. He declined, said he’s not in touch with his family and has no friends to call. He was adamant that he didn’t want his estranged parents or brother contacted for updates while ...