Telemedicine takes hold in medical education

Social distancing and the other restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that telemedicine made great strides as a care modality. While the rapid shutdowns in March 2020 forced physicians to immediately pivot and caused many to learn on the fly, programs have now begun to focus on teaching telemedicine to those in training. Senior Writer Mollie Frost reviews the pros and cons of telemedicine curricula, including what's working and what's not, and offers guidance and resources for those in the trenches.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be a conundrum in primary care, with research showing that patients who have it may not know it and that those who have received a COPD diagnosis may actually have a different disorder. This paradox can be due to missed or underreported symptoms or to overreliance on symptoms alone without further testing, according to experts. Our story looks at the benefit of early and accurate diagnosis of COPD, as well as ways to handle testing and screening in clinical practice.

September is Women in Medicine Month, and we have two stories in this issue that focus on gender equity. Mollie Frost talks to two ACP members who received ACP sponsorship to attend a Women in Medicine Summit Inclusive Leadership Development Lab and learn how to become better male allies. Also, our feature story reviews the latest research on the gender pay disparity in medicine, including studies finding that it persists in both academic and community practice as well as across different payment systems. Pay transparency, new definitions of productivity, and more objective salary standards can help close the gap, experts said.

The Supreme Court's recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade and turned health care in this country on its head. In response, ACP has come out strongly to reiterate its support of the right to reproductive health and patient autonomy. Sue S. Bornstein, MD, FACP, Chair of ACP's Board of Regents, outlines ACP's position and the potential effects of Dobbs on medicine.

Finally, I'm thrilled to report that ACP Internist has won two 2022 EXCEL Awards from Association Media & Publishing in the Newspapers category: a Gold for Editorial Excellence and a Silver for General Excellence. We're honored by this recognition, which motivates us to work even harder to continue to provide great coverage of all aspects of internal medicine to you, our readers. Please send us your thoughts and story ideas any time at immatters@acponline.org.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Kearney-Strouse
Executive Editor