Most of us do not want to die in the ICU tethered to tubes — not the quality of life we expect. Yet only 30 percent of us have made arrangements to prevent this from happening. Death and dying is a tough subject for us to broach. Be aware that very few of us will die in our sleep — most have a slow sometimes excruciating decline to death.
As we …
What is the goal of palliative care?
The culture of fear that led to dozens of fatal plane crashes in Korea, the molestation of young boys at Penn State University, and the tens of thousands of deaths of patients in our health care system are all a consequence of unresolved organizational conflict arising from a culture a fear. Unless, we replace fear with trust, conflict won’t be resolved.
In Korean culture, questioning authority is unacceptable and led to …
A culture of fear permeates the healthcare system
I’ve spent a lot of space on this site writing about participating in your healthcare so you get the right care.
And, I talked about developing a “relationship” with your doctor so you can effectively communicate. Relationship does not mean drinking buddy, golf partner, or someone to do shopping with. What is meant by “relationship” is developing a trust that allows you to effectively and unashamedly discuss your medical concerns and question treatment options …
Why developing trust with your doctor is important
An elderly woman sent home from the hospital develops a life-threatening infection because she doesn’t understand the warning signs listed in the discharge instructions.
A man confused by an intake form in a doctor’s office reflexively writes “no” to every question because he doesn’t understand what is being asked.
A young mother pours a drug that is supposed to be taken by mouth into her baby’s ear, perforating the eardrum.
And a man in …
Poor health literacy linked with unnecessary health complications
If you are one of the more than 100 million Americans who visit emergency rooms (ER) at least once a year, you’re not alone.
Americans, insured and not, make ample use of hospital emergency rooms. One out of every five visited an ER at least once in 2007, the latest year for which the National Center for Health Statistics …
Danger of multiple emergency room visits to different hospitals
There has been a lot talk about changing how we reimburse providers for healthcare from one that pays for services performed, to another that reimburses providers depending on what happens to the patient.
I think we must take a couple of steps back and first tackle the public health crises we are facing that is putting our healthcare in danger, namely, medical errors and the growing nursing shortage. Despite identifying work …
A culture of fear worsens the nursing shortage and medical errors
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