At the beginning of the workshops I teach, I always begin with a brief review of this fact: that American Health Care is not about health and it’s not about care; it’s about sickness and it’s about money. I then go on to explain the three-cornered payment system: we patients (or our employers) pay the […]
Who pays for your health care? Read More »
Yesterday I came down on the Times — so today I’ll give them some credit for Jane Brody’s article on health literacy. Seems that regardless of someone’s level of education, socio-economic status, age, race, etc, we are equally capable of being considered as “low health literate.” The article reviews two studies that cite earlier death
The New York Times: Health Literacy ~ getting it right this time Read More »
A health report written by Eric Nagourney, and featured last week in the New York Times tells us that doctors spend almost 16 minutes with patients — at least those who are older than 65. The patients came from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds, and the study was done in three different medical situations, and
The New York Times – asleep at the switch? Read More »
One of the workshops I teach is called Diagnosis Detective, and I’ll be teaching it again tonite. The concept is based on the need for patients to use the information provided to them by their doctors to do research on their own to either support, or refute, their diagnosis and treatment options as provided by
Diagnosis Detective Read More »
Art Buchwald did it his way. Others make the choice every day. My mother-in-law has now made the choice, too, and I’d even made a similar decision myself, although I was fortunate because it turned out to be unnecessary. It’s the choice NOT to be treated for a disease or condition — a choice, instead,
Refusing Treatment and Quality of Life Read More »
I have news alerts delivered to my email each day, and it seems like the topic of the week has been how horribly harmful those TV ads (OK, and radio and newspaper and web) are when they try to convince mere viewers (or readers or listeners) to ask for certain drugs. Most people don’t know
Pharmaceutical Drugs and Advertising Read More »
I heard yesterday from a woman (I’ll call her Jane) in Orange County, California who has been undiagnosed for more than ten years. She asked me if I knew of anyone who could help her navigate the medical care system to get to the bottom of her diagnosis. How frustrating it is for patients who
Another Patient Advocate Request Read More »
Most of us patients have very definite impressions when we leave a medical appointment about the doctor’s service to us: either we are satisfied with the experience and appreciate the time and care we’ve received…. or….. We are frustrated and angry and wish we had the nerve to tell the doctor what we REALLY think
The Doctor’s Report Card Read More »
