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Latest Posts

End-Of-Life Planning And Care: One Family’s Devotion And Pain

Esther and I went away last weekend for a much needed break from kids, the normal routine, and pets that can wake us up when daylight arrives here in the Pacific Northwest at 5am.

We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast called “The Blue Goose” in the small town of Coupeville, Washington, on Whidbey Island northwest of Seattle. It was restful and, with great sunny weather, rejuvenating.

At a bed and breakfast, of course, you typically chat with other people over coffee, egg soufflé, and bran muffins. The experience can be tiresome and too chatty. But sometimes it can be riveting.

It was the latter the other morning as we chatted with Diane about health matters and she shared her pain about two episodes in her life. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*

Why You Should Still See Your Doctor When You’re Not Sick

Patient Power logoExperts say over 100,000 lives a year could be saved in the United States if patients focused more on preventive medicine. What is preventive medicine? What can you do in your everyday life that may make a long-term difference?

On this Patient Power program, you will hear from two board certified internists from the UW Medicine Neighborhood Clinics in Western Washington. They will discuss how having an ongoing relationship with a primary care physician who you check in with regularly –- even when you’re well –- gives you the best chance at staying healthy.

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Clinical Trials: Accessing The Medicines Of Tomorrow Today

Reporting from the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference in Chicago, empowered patient Andrew Schorr discusses how long it can take before a study is presented at ASCO and the role of clinical trials in giving patients access to the medicines of tomorrow today.

What’s Old is New at ASCO from Patient Power® on Vimeo.

*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*

Medical Conventions: More Focus On Patients Needed

Andrew Schorr, host and founder of Patient Power, discusses the hope of changing the focus from products to patients at medical conventions.

Shifting the Focus to Patients at Medical Conventions from Patient Power® on Vimeo.

*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*

“Patient Journalists”: Health News From The Patient’s Perspective

My wife and family are alternately happy and unhappy about the prospect of me headed out of town to attend two medical conventions in a row. When they need me they REALLY need me, and when they have plenty else to do, I could be on the moon and they wouldn’t miss me.

Oh well, I am off anyway to two parts of the country in rapid succession with the goal of helping patients worldwide. The first stop is the meeting of the American Urological Association and the second is the meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. I’ll be in San Francisco and then Chicago to gather medical news for patients.

I am a big believer that there should not be a delay in bringing significant medical news to people living with or affected by a medical condition. For me, as a leukemia survivor, I don’t want to wait to hear about a new or better treatment. I want it now and in-depth. I don’t want to wait for my next doctor visit. And I want to hear it from the source. That’s what being a powerful patient is all about. Read more »

*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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