I heard from a friend (I’ll call her Nancy) this morning about symptoms she’s been battling for a few months and was unwilling to share with anyone before now. It seems she has been back and forth with several doctors, has two sets of symptoms that could — or might not — be related. And […]
Second Opinions That Don’t Count – or Do Read More »
Part of my work is what I call health or medical “consumerism” — recognizing, talking about, and creating guidelines for patients as they regard cost of their healthcare. From nuances in purchasing health insurance, to understanding how those dollars get allocated, to ideas for saving money and even appealing health insurance payment rejections — that’s
Patient as Customer? Read More »
A report from the AP last week, and reported by the Washington Post, Fox News and others, describes a survey of more than 3,000 doctors in both the US and Canada about their reactions to their own mistakes. The survey was developed and issued by the Joint Commission (JCAHO), the body that accredits hospitals and
Doctors are Human, too Read More »
Before you read this blog post, I’ll beg you to be patient with me. Having been diagnosed with lymphoma myself, and reading the article I’m about to cite, my disgust and anger can’t be bridled… If you have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, there may be a cure for you that your oncologist hasn’t even
Lymphoma Patients’ “Secret” Option Read More »
Before you read this blog post, I’ll beg you to be patient with me. Having been diagnosed with lymphoma myself, and reading the article I’m about to cite, my disgust and anger can’t be bridled… If you have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, there may be a cure for you that your oncologist hasn’t even
Lymphoma Patients’ “Secret” Option Read More »
Yesterday brought two excellent and interesting conversations, both of which could directly affect your medical care. First, my news alerts sent me to the website of a family practice physician turned patient advocate, Dr. Delia Chiaramonte. I wonder if the people in Baltimore, MD realize what a gem they have to help them? Dr. Chiaramonte
The P and M Words: Easier Said than Done Read More »
The term “patient empowerment” triggered a link to the following from Kim’s Emergiblog: (we’re sorry – this link has been removed for malware) Kim is an emergency room nurse who blogs for other emergency room nurses. This particular post was of interest because it focuses on patient advocacy and respect, at least once you get
From the Twilight Zone to Empowerment Read More »
The Today Show this morning featured a vignette about what to do if you are denied a treatment or therapy by your health insurance company — the steps you can take to, perhaps, change their mind. Yeah, right. Like that might happen. The story featured a woman who is dying of a rare form of
Health Insurance Companies Play God Read More »
