Patient voices

1,315 articles · Since 2005

Articles, page 57

How to say goodbye to patients

August 3, 2010Aug 3, 20103

OncRN is a wonderful blog written by an anonymous author sharing stories and insights in her line of work that many times speak to palliative themes. S/he says it best in her blog description, my life gets intermittantly (sic) rocked…

OncRN is a wonderful blog written by an anonymous author sharing stories and insights in her line of work that many times speak to palliative themes. S/he says it best in her blog description,

my life gets intermittantly (sic) rocked by the wonders/horrors of being an oncology nurse. i just need to talk it all through sometimes.

A recent post is about how to say good-bye to our patients, particularly …

Read more…

How to say goodbye to patients

Is patient adherence responsible for health quality and safety?

Steve Wilkins, MPH

August 3, 2010Aug 3, 20106

A while back I did in a post where I asked the question, What can patients really expect from their physicians today? In that post, I wondered at the fact that many patients still have a high degree of trust in their physician in spite of the quality and safety problems attributed to physicians in the press.

For example:

On average, US adults receive only 50% of recommended

…

Caring for dying patients needs better physician communication

MedPage Today

August 2, 2010Aug 2, 2010

by Michael Smith Clinicians treating dying patients did well in managing pain but fell short on communicating with patients and their loved ones, researchers said. The findings, from a single-institution study, suggest that those who care for terminal patients also…

by Michael Smith

Clinicians treating dying patients did well in managing pain but fell short on communicating with patients and their loved ones, researchers said.

The findings, from a single-institution study, suggest that those who care for terminal patients also often failed to assess shortness of breath in a dying patient whose mechanical ventilation was withdrawn, according to Anne Walling, MD, of the University of California Los Angeles, and colleagues.

But overall those …

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What does a TIA feel like? A Stroke Diaries excerpt

Kevin

August 2, 2010Aug 2, 2010

An excerpt from Stroke Diaries. by Olajide Williams, MD The man who did not take his medicine Pedro was lying on the bathroom floor next to the toilet bowl. Water was still running from rusty faucet, overflowing the sink, and…

An excerpt from Stroke Diaries.

by Olajide Williams, MD

The man who did not take his medicine

Pedro was lying on the bathroom floor next to the toilet bowl. Water was still running from rusty faucet, overflowing the sink, and pooling around his body as he lay limp on wet porcelain tiles. Lucy was standing over him and whining. The young black Labrador retriever had not left …

Empathy is needed for better relationships with patients

John Schumann, MD

August 1, 2010Aug 1, 20103

Most people enter the healing arts with a genuine desire to serve others. The long educational journey and the realities of both the workaday world and the various business models of health care often strain our abilities to act in…

Most people enter the healing arts with a genuine desire to serve others.

The long educational journey and the realities of both the workaday world and the various business models of health care often strain our abilities to act in an empathic manner.

We have to pay the bills, after all.

“No money, no mission,” is a refrain I’ve often heard in the non-profit corners of the health care world, justifying business decisions …

Decision support can help doctors order scans

Scott Cowsill

July 30, 2010Jul 30, 2010

by Scott Cowsill A third or more of scans may be unnecessary or repetitive, studies show, and in scans that are medically appropriate, radiation doses could be dramatically reduced without hurting the quality of images. As pointed out by Robert…

by Scott Cowsill

A third or more of scans may be unnecessary or repetitive, studies show, and in scans that are medically appropriate, radiation doses could be dramatically reduced without hurting the quality of images.

As pointed out by Robert Centor, MD, “one cannot easily develop rules for testing because the presentations that we see vary so greatly.” That being said, guidelines for diagnostic …

What to do if your doctor quits and leaves medicine

Jan Gurley, MD

July 29, 2010Jul 29, 201013

The news that Dr. Marcus Conant has quit practicing medicine is a blow to healthcare here in the Bay Area. And a sad symbol of all that is wrong with healthcare – and in particularly, the way we treat primary…

The news that Dr. Marcus Conant has quit practicing medicine is a blow to healthcare here in the Bay Area.

And a sad symbol of all that is wrong with healthcare – and in particularly, the way we treat primary care practitioners – in America today. It would be hard to find a doctor more symbolic of the best of medicine than Marcus Conant – a man willing to devote …

Hearing loss from iPods and other MP3 players

MedPage Today

July 24, 2010Jul 24, 20102

by Crystal Phend iPod users beware. Listening to an MP3 player for even an hour can induce short-term hearing loss, researchers affirmed. Compared with controls, hearing deterioration among MP3 users was 3.97 to 4.40 times more likely when listening to…

by Crystal Phend

iPod users beware. Listening to an MP3 player for even an hour can induce short-term hearing loss, researchers affirmed.

Compared with controls, hearing deterioration among MP3 users was 3.97 to 4.40 times more likely when listening to pop/rock music through earbud headphones at different output levels, found Hannah Keppler, MS, of Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium, and colleagues.

Listening to an iPod with over-the-ear headphones also boosted the odds of …

Talking with patients about their impending death

Brad Stuart, MD

July 23, 2010Jul 23, 201013

The emergency department phoned my office right before lunch. I was on call for our general IM group, so when I was done with my morning schedule I walked across the street to the hospital. Greg, my partner's 38 year…

The emergency department phoned my office right before lunch.

I was on call for our general IM group, so when I was done with my morning schedule I walked across the street to the hospital. Greg, my partner’s 38 year old patient, was a woodworker admitted with fever, chills, cough, a sharp pain in his right side, and a WBC of 18,000. On the chest x-ray, I saw what I …

Dana Jennings interview, the world’s most famous patient blogger

Lisa Gualtieri, PhD

July 22, 2010Jul 22, 2010

Dana Jennings writes what is arguably the world’s most famous patient blog about his treatment for prostate cancer. Just to be clear, I don’t have any statistics about how many readers he and other patient bloggers have. I believe his…

Dana Jennings writes what is arguably the world’s most famous patient blog about his treatment for prostate cancer.

Just to be clear, I don’t have any statistics about how many readers he and other patient bloggers have. I believe his blog is the most widely read and best-know patient blog because of the number of comments he receives and its prominent location in the New York Times Health section, itself …

Participatory medicine and evidence from medical journals

Dave deBronkart

July 20, 2010Jul 20, 20104

I’ve only been studying healthcare for two years and I hesitate to be overly assertive. But I have, finally, reached the point where I feel confident in citing cases where people are simply being unscientific: ignoring evidence. That’s always hazardous,…

I’ve only been studying healthcare for two years and I hesitate to be overly assertive.

But I have, finally, reached the point where I feel confident in citing cases where people are simply being unscientific: ignoring evidence. That’s always hazardous, and it becomes insidious when it’s caused by a blind, unquestioning belief in our institutions.

Case in point:

Julie Thoren is an active practitioner of Participatory Medicine who’s seen first-hand the tremendous value …

Cancer patients need compassion and balanced information

Bruce Campbell, MD

July 18, 2010Jul 18, 2010

If you have to ask what jazz is, you will never know. - Louis Armstrong The stillness in the meeting room was electric. First, one panelist addressed the audience members who have never experienced a malignancy. She described the unique…

If you have to ask what jazz is, you will never know.
– Louis Armstrong

The stillness in the meeting room was electric.

First, one panelist addressed the audience members who have never experienced a malignancy. She described the unique and powerful bond that exists between cancer survivors. She described how the brush with mortality forces each survivor to renegotiate terms with Life itself. She reminded everyone that the cancer care system too often lets …

How doctors can discuss advance directives with patients

Juliet K. Mavromatis, MD

July 17, 2010Jul 17, 2010

A recent blog post and series of responses on KevinMD.com aroused my interest. Dr. Kevin Pho posed the question: Why are doctors so reluctant to discuss end-of-life care? Responders, including patients, doctors, nurses, and even a veterinarian highlighted the stress…

A recent blog post and series of responses on KevinMD.com aroused my interest.

Dr. Kevin Pho posed the question: Why are doctors so reluctant to discuss end-of-life care? Responders, including patients, doctors, nurses, and even a veterinarian highlighted the stress inherent in this discussion for patients and for medical professionals alike.

To me, the real issue is not whether the discussion should occur, because clearly it should, but when and how? …

When the doctor is the patient, humanism and competency matter

Wendy Sue Swanson, MD

July 13, 2010Jul 13, 201011

Over the past few weeks I’ve had ample opportunity to be on the other side. Not like some parents with chronically ill children or those with children who have suffered tragic illness. No, not like that; I am fortunate that hospitals aren’t a part of my family’s everyday (except for work). My children have had amazing fortune and I remain in awe of good health. Lately though, we’ve had some …

Answers to patient questions may not always be simple

Hans Duvefelt, MD

July 8, 2010Jul 8, 20104

I used to get frustrated when patients, typically at the very end of a long visit for some other serious problem, would utter one-liners like “What can I take for headaches?” “How do I know if I have cancer?” or…

Now I have a one-liner, of sorts, myself in response to those types of questions. I usually lean back slightly, widen my eyes, nod and say:

“Now, …

Treatment decisions under migraine headache influence

Diana E. Lee

July 7, 2010Jul 7, 20103

by Diana E. Lee At an appointment with my local neurologist I showed up feeling bone tired and mentally drained. Next thing I knew I was going back on a medication I had deliberately chosen to stop taking just because…

by Diana E. Lee

At an appointment with my local neurologist I showed up feeling bone tired and mentally drained.

Next thing I knew I was going back on a medication I had deliberately chosen to stop taking just because a doctor told me I should be taking something.

When the doctor finally came into my exam room he looked over the list of medications I was taking and declared that Lyrica alone …

Patients can ask for discounts if the doctor is running late

Kevin Pho, MD

July 7, 2010Jul 7, 201015

Should doctors face consequences if they run late? From the New York Times' health blog, Well, comes a story where a medical group promises, “same-day appointments and longer, more personalized visits that start on time.” Sounds good, right? But it…

Should doctors face consequences if they run late?

From the New York Times’ health blog, Well, comes a story where a medical group promises, “same-day appointments and longer, more personalized visits that start on time.”

Sounds good, right?

But it comes with a caveat, namely, a $199 annual membership fee. A tremendous amount of primary care can be bought with that amount of money, and if patients were willing to pay that, …

Op-ed: Empowered e-patients are failed by our health system

Kevin Pho, MD

July 6, 2010Jul 6, 20106

The following op-ed was published on June 7th, 2010 in CNN.com. "I read all about my condition on the Internet," a recent patient proudly told me. Like other doctors, I'm seeing more patients research their symptoms thoroughly before setting foot…

The following op-ed was published on June 7th, 2010 in CNN.com.

“I read all about my condition on the Internet,” a recent patient proudly told me. Like other doctors, I’m seeing more patients research their symptoms thoroughly before setting foot in the exam room.

Patients are using the Web in unprecedented ways for their own health empowerment. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 61 percent of American adults …

How to treat patients who want everything

Lyle Fettig, MD

July 3, 2010Jul 3, 20102

The Annals of Internal Medicine had a perspective article by palliative medicine communication gurus Drs. Tim Quill, Bob Arnold, and Tony Back which details an approach to discussing treatment preferences with patients who want "everything." When I think of a…

The Annals of Internal Medicine had a perspective article by palliative medicine communication gurus Drs. Tim Quill, Bob Arnold, and Tony Back which details an approach to discussing treatment preferences with patients who want “everything.”

When I think of a patient requesting “everything,” I typically think of it as a response to a physician who offers the patient the choice of “doing nothing” if the patient’s heart should stop or …

Customer service needs to be a priority in health care

John Schumann, MD

July 1, 2010Jul 1, 201073

What do Enterprise Rent-a-Car, KeyBank, and the Cleveland Clinic have in common? They all make customer (patient) satisfaction a top priority. They accomplish this in industry-specific ways, but together their emphasis on service as a passion shares common themes: 1.…

What do Enterprise Rent-a-Car, KeyBank, and the Cleveland Clinic have in common?

They all make customer (patient) satisfaction a top priority.

They accomplish this in industry-specific ways, but together their emphasis on service as a passion shares common themes:

1. Buy-in for a service culture comes straight from the top, and permeates the entire organization.
2. Copious resources are delegated to building a service culture, starting with hiring.
3. Employees are “hired for fit.” If …