Monya De

Medicine and Science

Monya De, MD MPH is an alumna of Stanford University. She graduated with distinction from UC-Irvine School of Medicine and was named the nation's top medical student in the communication of science by the American Medical Association.

Her interests include health policy, technology, and media. She has been a reporter for the ABC News Medical Unit, a commentator for the television show "Hopkins," and a script consultant for shows including Harry's Law, The Ghost Whisperer, Brothers and Sisters, House, and The Firm. She practices wellness-focused internal medicine in Los Angeles.

Articles

Photo: Mario Villafuerte /Getty Images

When it comes to healthy living, docs don't practice what they preach

Physicians are often terrible at heeding their own advice. "Among a trio of lung specialists I once knew, only one was not a chain smoker himself," writes Dr. Monya De. How does this happen?

Chronic Disease

[Photo by Tulane University via Flickr.]

Loan repayment programs could work far better for both docs and underserved patients

Medical school debts can make loan repayment programs a win-win for both docs and underserved patients. But some basic fixes could make such programs far more effective.

If patients were better at reporting food poisoning, we could all keep our lunch

Doctors see patients with cases of food poisoning all the time. But patients too rarely bother to report the incidents to their local health department. If they did, we'd all be happier diners.

Patient Safety and Ethics

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Primary care docs often don’t hear how the story ends once patients handed to specialists

Primary care doctors used to receive more feedback from specialists on the status of referred patients. That happens far less these days, to the detriment of doctors' ongoing clinical education.

For doctors, shifts in medical science pose chronic dilemmas in patient care

The research base upon which medicine is built is constantly evolving. Open-mindedness and a willingness to constantly update one's knowledge are the best defenses against complacency, writes Dr. Monya De.

Chronic Disease

Photo: Chris Hondros / Getty Images

Ten predictions on how medicine will change in coming decades (Part 2)

Dr. Monya De rounds out her top 10 predictions on what medicine will look like over the decades to come. Not surprisingly, she projects technology to play a big role, from surgical robots to telemedicine.

A visit to Colontown shows potential of online patient communities

New online communities are offering patients support and guidance to an extent not previously possible. That can be a huge boon for colon cancer patients, who might otherwise find themselves isolated and afraid.

Chronic Disease

What will the future of medicine look like? Monya De enters her time machine for a sneak peek.

Ten predictions on how medicine will change in coming decades (Part 1)

While innovation will spur many changes in health care, current trends may also create unwelcome developments. Dr. Monya De offers her first five of 10 predictions on what medicine will look like in the decades to come.

Health Insurance and Costs

Understanding HIPAA, and how it can hurt health care

HIPAA was designed to protect what’s called “protected health information.” But a rising chorus say the law has been too widely applied and now poses serious barriers to health information for doctors, patients and journalists alike.

Despite gains, mental health still separate but unequal from rest of health care system

Why is mental health so walled off from the rest of the health care system, even when statistics show that 18 percent of all adults have some kind of mental illness? And weren't federal parity requirements supposed to fix this?