September 28th, 2011 by AndrewSchorr in Opinion
Tags: 360 Degrees, Advocacy, Friends, Full View, Information, National CML Society, Non-Profit, Organizations, Partnerships, Patient Empowerment, Patient Power, Provide, Public Relations Firms, Services, Support
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As we often say at Patient Power, there is no one source for medical information. The same is true when it comes to support for patients. No one organization is THE place to go and has all the answers.
That may sound obvious. But just as it has taken a long time to dislodge the “Doctor as God” perception or “I’m the doctor and you’re not” put-down of “problem patients,” there have been some non-profit advocacy groups that have seen themselves as the “be all and end all” for conditions they cover. In both cases, the arrogant doctor and the “100,000 pound gorilla” organization, neither took what I call the “big tent” view. In their view, they were the tent and there was no room for anyone else. That’s never been our view and I wanted to tell you how we are celebrating our relationships with a multitude of partners, many of whom are becoming friends. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*
September 28th, 2011 by Emergiblog in News, Opinion
Tags: A&E, BBC, Doctors, ED, Emergency Department, Emergency Room, ER, Great Britain, Nurses, Patients, Real Life, Television Show, Trauma, TV
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You know me.
I’m all over anything that is from the BBC.
But this is different.
There is no TARDIS. And there are nurses along with the doctor. Lots of nurses.
And the only people flying through time and space are the trauma patients before they hit the bus or the ground.
24 Hours in the ER premiered last night on BBC America. I received a copy of the first two episodes from BBC America unedited for American television. Of course in Great Britian, this was called “24 Hours in A&E”.
On a personal level, I like it. It reminds me of the old “Trauma in the ER”.
On a professional level, Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Emergiblog*
September 28th, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Opinion
Tags: Classroom, Compassion, Curriculum, Doctors, Empathy, Heart, Human Connection, Human Traits, Humility, Introspection, Medical School, Personal Loss, Role Playing, Students, Vulnerability
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It seems that there are medical schools taking the initiative to help their students become more compassionate. It’s a worthy goal but I don’t know if it’s possible. We can teach individuals to act compassionate. But that, of course, is different from being compassionate. While there may be literature to support the cause, I don’t think that a curriculum can cultivate empathy.
Is it possible to change a student or doctor’s heart? Of course, I see it all the time. But not from role playing or small groups. It’s human circumstances that drive change. Personal loss and life experience tempered by introspection and humility change how we see those around us. It’s only when we recognize our own vulnerability that we can begin to see it in others. This doesn’t happen in a classroom. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
September 28th, 2011 by Stanley Feld, M.D. in Health Policy, Opinion
Tags: Abusing The System, AMA, Approval, Center for Public Integrity, Claims Data, CPI, Diabetes, Federal Government, Financial Information, Insurance, Medicare, Newt Gingrich, Outliers, Over-testing, Physicians, Procedures, Quality Medical Care, Spending, Tests, Wall Street Journal, Waste
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I have opposed Medicare’s use of claims data to evaluate the quality of medical care. Quality medical care is the goal that must be achieved. However, no one has described the measurement of quality medical care adequately.
Physicians recognize when other physicians are not performing quality medical care. Physicians recognize when another physician is just testing and performing procedures to increase revenue.
These over testing physicians are a small minority of physicians in practice.
Quality medical care is not about doing quarterly HbA1c’s on patients with Diabetes Mellitus. Quality medical care is about helping patients control their blood sugars so their HbA1c becomes normalized. It is about the clinical and financial results of treatment.
The clinical and financial results depend on both patients and physicians. Patients must be responsible for Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Repairing the Healthcare System*
September 27th, 2011 by DrWes in Opinion
Tags: American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, CDC, FDA, Fear, Health and Human Services, Health Care System, Marketing, Million Hearts, Private Interests, Profit, Rant, Screening, Tax Payer Dollars, United Healthcare, Walgreens
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I don’t know what I was thinking with my last post about the Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts initiative. I thought the whole point of this program was to save money. At the time, I was less than optimistic that the government could acurately reach their goal given the problems with many of the principles behind their program. For instance, maybe it was just me, but how typing on an electronic medical record system would save those lives was lost on me.
But at the time, I had no idea this whole campaign was based on fear.
Watch this introductory video I found on the brand new Million Hearts website, all paid for (of course) with your tax payer dollars: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Dr. Wes*
