Author Archives: jwboyd

Sayonara Facebook and Twitter

After saving all of my photos–ironically, seeing vacation photos was why I joined many years ago–I left Facebook roughly a month ago. Several years ago during a visit in Nashville, my former teacher Larry Churchill was decrying so many of … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Sayonara Facebook and Twitter

KCRW: Life Examined: In search of a (good) therapist: Insurance, fit, and stigma

I’m delighted that KCRW: Life Examined public radio in LA devoted this segment to mental health care and honored to have been a guest on the show. You can find the broadcast here.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on KCRW: Life Examined: In search of a (good) therapist: Insurance, fit, and stigma

John Oliver on Mental Health Care

So honored to have my research cited by John Oliver! Monica Malowney and I have written about how absurdly difficult it is to access behavioral healthcare in the U.S. many times over the years. It’s so absurd that comedians keep … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on John Oliver on Mental Health Care

Podcast on KevinMD: What doctors need to know about state Physician Health Programs given their power and potential dangers, along with an inability to appeal their demands and recommendations

Physician health programs (PHPs) have way more power than most MDs know and physicians who are referred to PHPs usually have to do anything and everything PHPs tell them if they want to continue to practice medicine. MDs who object … Continue reading

Posted in Addiction, Medical Ethics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Podcast on KevinMD: What doctors need to know about state Physician Health Programs given their power and potential dangers, along with an inability to appeal their demands and recommendations

Letter in Boston Globe on why Accessing Mental Health treatment is so Difficult

You can find the full text of the letter here.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Letter in Boston Globe on why Accessing Mental Health treatment is so Difficult

Extorting physicians: If doctors don’t pay up they don’t work

I’ve just published another piece on KevinMD about physician health program. You can find it here. I conclude the piece with the following: Change is overdue. Physicians who need help for mental health issues or substance use disorders need to … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Extorting physicians: If doctors don’t pay up they don’t work

Abortion Rights Under Fire

On the surface, the notion of “letting voters decide” on a state by state basis whether abortion ought to be legal might seem to make sense, but given the dramatic lengths that states like Texas (where I now live) and … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Abortion Rights Under Fire

The case for decriminalizing the street sale of buprenorphine

I am super proud of this piece with Harvard medical students Anand Chukka and John Messinger in which we make the case that buprenorphine street sales ought to be decriminalized. The US is overdue for creating sane policies to deal … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on The case for decriminalizing the street sale of buprenorphine

Ethical Issues in Medicine: A Discussion with the Premed Scene

Interesting discussion about the path I took to end up in medicine as well as some basic issues in medical ethics. You can hear the podcast here.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Ethical Issues in Medicine: A Discussion with the Premed Scene

Book Review of Social (In)Justice and Mental Health by Ruth Shim and Sarah Vinson with my co-author Candy Smith, PhD

My colleague at Baylor College of Medicine Candy Smith and I co-authored a book review of Social (In)Justice and Mental Health by psychiatrists Ruth Shim and Sarah Vinson for the Journal of Psychiatric Practice. You can find the first page … Continue reading

Posted in Miscellaneous | Comments Off on Book Review of Social (In)Justice and Mental Health by Ruth Shim and Sarah Vinson with my co-author Candy Smith, PhD