The Curious Side Effects of Medical Transparency

We demand transparency in government, charitable institutions, nutrition labels, and middle-school grading rubrics. The medical record should be no different. And yet, in writing medical notes in this new age of full medical transparency, I can feel an awkwardness creeping in. There is something disquieting about knowing that my every word might be scrutinized. More

Studio Visit: Lauriston Avery

Bellevue Literary Review is chock full of poetry, fiction, and poetry on the inside. But on the outside, the BLR features the work of contemporary artists on its covers. Danielle Ofri, BLR’s Editor-in-Chief, recently visited the studio of Lauriston Avery in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Avery’s otherworldly art graces the cover of BLR Issue 43, which is focused on the theme of Recovery. More

Danielle Ofri interviews playwright Sarah Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl–acclaimed playwright, two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, MacArthur “genius” — joins BLR editor-in-chief Danielle Ofri for a fascinating conversation about her life, her career, and her extraordinary journey to reclaim her own face. Her book, “Smile,” was a New York Times best-seller. More

Covid and the Creative Process

Covid has generated unusual creative pressures: Must writers write about the pandemic? Does bearing witness to inequities impact creative output? How do we make art in a time of suffering? BLR editors Danielle Ofri and Doris W. Cheng are joined in conversation by poet Phillip B. Williams and novelist Weike Wang. With special guests: playwright Sarah Ruhl and scientist/writer Joseph Osmundson. More

The Power of the Pen

These past few years have brought human vulnerability to the forefront of our collective conscience and a recognition that the human spirit needs as much tending as the human body. Join Bellevue Literary Review (BLR) to celebrate ‘The Power of the Pen,’ exploring how writing can transform healing. More

Poetry & Parkinson’s

Hal Sirowitz is poet with Parkinson’s disease, He was one of the original performers at the Nuyorican Poets’ Cafe and is BLR’s most published poet! Danielle Ofri hosts a film screening and conversation about poetry, Parkinson’s, and finding your voice. More

Women in Medicine Transforming Healthcare

Danielle Ofri and Lucy Lester discuss the history and the current status of women in medicine, and how women have transformed healthcare.
Co-sponsored by AMWA (American Women’s Medical Association) & WIMLF (Women in Medicine Legacy Foundation). More

Communication Errors in Healthcare

Danielle Ofri answers questions about communication errors in healthcare. How can patient ensure they are heard? How should clinicians disclosure medical errors? What can be done about the power imbalance that between doctors and patients? How can we reduce medical error and avoid malpractice suits? More

Even with lawsuits and co-pay caps, will Insulin ever be affordable?

The sausage-making of how insulin is priced is not for the faint of heart. I’m a physician, not an economist. But the diagnosis seems plain as day: greed. Once we’ve allowed health care to be an economic entity like mobile phones, sports cars, and jewelry, all players with fingers in the pie will extract as much money from the process as the market will bear. More

Serving Patients Through a Screen

Years ago, when telemedicine first edged into my clinical consciousness, I pooh-poohed it as a second-rate simulacrum, valuable perhaps for rural communities lacking access to specialists, but otherwise hardly worth the crinkly exam paper it was replacing. I’ve staked my entire career on the irreplaceable value of the connection between patient and clinician. But I’ve changed…. More

“When We Do Harm” in Russian

привет Privet! Beacon Press is excited to announce that “When We Do Harm” is now available in Russian! More

“When We Do Harm” in Japanese

こんにちは Kon’nichiwa! Beacon Press is excited to announce that “When We Do Harm” is now available in Japanese! More

Access to Primary Care

“Doctor, it’s taken so long to get this appointment with you!” This is the opening line of so many medical visits, and I find myself constantly apologizing to my patients on behalf of our system. After the pandemic-induced lull in routine medical care, we’re right back where we started—doctors booked for months, patients struggling to get appointments. More

Memorializing Covid

COVID-19 does not seem amenable to grand memorials, at least right now. Perhaps because the millions of deaths from COVID-19 have been diffused so widely, often in isolation—and of course still ongoing—the memorials that are starting to crop up are very human in scale. More

I Feel Safest (re Covid) in My Own Hospital

When it comes to Covid, our patients seem to be moving on. We healthcare workers, however, don’t have that option, as Covid is now the third leading cause of death in the U.S. Covid may not be the only thing on our mind as it was at the outset, but it’s still part of every staff meeting, every communication, every clinical day. More

Books by Danielle Ofri

Subscribe