October 29th, 2011 by Jessie Gruman, Ph.D. in Opinion
Tags: Cancer Care, Confusion, Doctor Visit, Foreign Country, Health Care Provider, Patient-Centered Care, Serious Illness, Tourists, Unwelcome
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“Being diagnosed with a serious illness is like being drop-kicked into a foreign country: you don’t know the language, you don’t understand the culture, you don’t have a map and you desperately want to find your way home.”
I wrote that following a cancer-related diagnosis six years ago that resulted in removal of a part of my colon. One year ago this week I was in the hospital longing for home while recovering from surgery for stomach cancer. Today I am traveling in Spain (feeling fine and minus the drop-kicked part) and am reminded of this analogy every day.
For example, I couldn’t figure out how to punch my ticket on the city bus. The driver told me in Spanish that I barely comprehend to turn the ticket over. No luck. His voice rose: “You put it in upside down.” Again, no luck. He shouted: “Use the other damn machine!”
Stupid tourist.
There’s a man who sits at the front desk at the clinic where I get most of my cancer care. He greets every person who walks past his desk as though Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*
October 29th, 2011 by ChristopherChangMD in Opinion, Research
Tags: Alternative Medicine, Anxiety, Believe, Evidence, Faith, Homeopathy, Medical, Medicine, Mental State, Mind, Placebo, Stress, Treatment
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24 years old female presents with several week history of progressive stomach pains, substernal chest discomfort, heart palpitations, loss of appetite, headache, insomnia, and growing lump sensation in her throat. Physical exam was essentially normal.
Can this previously healthy female have suddenly developed reflux, globus, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, brain tumor, and throat cancer with possible overlying thyroid disorder? Or perhaps has she contracted some other horrific mystery disease?
Maybe…
But maybe none of the above…
What if I told you she will be giving a doctoral dissertation for her Master’s next week for which she is ill-prepared given a recent breakup with her boyfriend of 5 years and a growing distaste of her school classmates who have been less than supportive.
In other words, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Fauquier ENT Blog*
October 28th, 2011 by KerriSparling in Opinion
Tags: Basal Rates, Blood Sugar, Control, Dexcom, Diabetes, Disease managment, Glucose, High, Low, mg/dL, symptoms, Type 1
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For a good, long time, I ran higher than usual on purpose because of my focus on the baby and my fear of low blood sugars while I was responsible for her care. In the last few months, I’ve started to lower my blood sugar goals to reclaim a little more control and tighten up that freaking standard deviation.
Which also means that my sensitivity to low blood sugars is tossed out the window once again, along with any whisper of a symptom. (“Pssssst. You’re low.”)
So these lows are starting to creep back into rotation. For a few weeks, it was Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Six Until Me.*
October 28th, 2011 by DavidHarlow in Opinion
Tags: Accountable Care Organizations, ACO Regulations, conference, e-Patient Dave, Engagement, Health 2.0, Health Reform, HIPAA, Law, Lee Aase, Mayo Clinic, Participatory Medicine, Patient Involvement, Privacy, Social Media, Twitter
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I’m back from my pilgrimage to Rochester, MN for the Third Annual Health Care Social Media Summit at the Mayo Clinic, presented by Ragan Communications. I had a great time, and want to share the experience with you. So please take a look at the archived #mayoragan tweets, my presentation on health care social media and the law, and my blog posts about the pre-conference and the summit itself posted at HealthWorks Collective. Here are some excerpts:
Mayo Ragan Social Media Summit Pre-Conference:
A recurring theme in my hallway conversations [today] was that it is impossible to transplant a successful program from one location to another without taking into account myriad local conditions (social media program, heart transplant program – same problem). As I always say to folks Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at HealthBlawg :: David Harlow's Health Care Law Blog*
October 28th, 2011 by Jessie Gruman, Ph.D. in Opinion
Tags: Alex Drapos Memorial Lecture, Avastin, Beta Blockers, Breast Cancer, Clark University, Effective Treatments, Evidence Based Medicine, health care, Health care expenditures, Heart Attack, Inappropriate Care, Jim Keogh, President’s Lecture Series, Wasteful
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On October 4th, 2011, I delivered the Alex Drapos Memorial Lecture at Clark University as part of their ongoing President’s Lecture Series. Here’s what Jim Keogh, Director of News and Editorial Services, reported about my talk:
Gruman said American health care treads a fine line between trying to serve the good of the many and the interests of the individual. But no one has yet figured out a cost-effective, yet humane, way to do both. She asserted that the skyrocketing expense of health care — expected to rise to $4.64 trillion by 2020 — isn’t reflected in the quality of treatment people receive.
“Should we be able to choose whatever medicine we want, even if there’s no evidence it’s effective?” ~ Jessie Gruman
“There is much ineffective, extra, inappropriate care being delivered,” Gruman said. As an example she cited Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Prepared Patient Forum: What It Takes Blog*