A video and transcript of a conversation between Harrison “Skip” Pope Jr., MD, MPH, of Harvard Medical School, and Katharine Phillips, MD, of New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, who discuss symptoms, treatments, and social propagation of “muscle dysmorphia”: a preoccupation with the belief that one’s body isn’t large or muscular enough.

The story of “Dr. H,” an up-and-coming physician who was charged with 14 counts of murder in June 2019 after prescribing patients extremely high doses of fentanyl. The prosecution said Dr. H had intended to hasten or cause the deaths of the 14 patients, and it did not matter whether they were severely ill or close to dying. The defense argued the physician was merely relieving the patients’ suffering and that they died from their underlying diseases or being removed from ventilators. Who did the jury agree with?

A commentary with perspective on the clinical practice implications of the Comparison of Outcomes of Antibiotic Drugs and Appendectomy (CODA) trial, which demonstrated short-term noninferiority of antibiotic therapy vs. surgical therapy for patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis.

The editorialists noted that, because of the slow pace of clinical trials, their findings will likely be the best available evidence for some time: “While we await better evidence, we believe that clinicians should meet patients with chronic pain ‘where they are.’ Conventional analgesic medications are effective only in a subset of persons…clinicians can compassionately witness, record, and offer guidance to help patients with chronic pain use cannabis wisely.”

We already shared the story about the financial advantage of AI being used in colonoscopies — here is a related story featuring key takeaways regarding the importance of screening in younger people, new techniques such as linked color imaging, and the non-invasive modality MRI colonography.

Looking for some stimulating summer reading? From addiction to therapists to the psychopathy in charismatic leaders, these are books that can improve your understanding of yourself and others in your practice.