Perhaps the most basic of patient empowerment skills is the ability of patients to ask questions of their doctors. The AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) recognizes that an informed patient will be a healthier patient — and has put together a video they plan to run (and already have in some places) on […]
Do You Ask Your Doctor Questions? Read More »
Last September, a gentleman and professor from Carnegie Mellon (Carnegie Tech) made headlines when he announced he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, then stood before a lecture hall of students and gave his “lecture of a lifetime.” It’s about achieving one’s childhood dreams. I watched it again this morning. As I said when I
Update on Randy Pausch, Known for His Lecture of a Lifetime Read More »
Most of us know the word “placebo.” It’s a Latin word meaning “I shall please.” Along comes a word I’d never heard before yesterday — but it has application in areas of my work. The word is “Nocebo” — more Latin — meaning “I shall harm.” I heard the word from a broadcast producer, Stacie,
The Nocebo Effect: The Potentially Deadly Version of “It’s All in Your Head” Read More »
(May 20, 2008 – find an update to this post) [Let me begin this post with a bit of a disclaimer. My husband is a retired veteran of the Air Force — 20+ years — before I knew him, but that doesn’t diminish my pride in the fact that he served our country. His son
I’ve watched and heard plenty of controversy from those who are either upset, or elated, that ABC will be airing an episode of its new TV show, Eli Stone, tomorrow night. Eli Stone is a lawyer who defends a lawsuit imposed by a family who believes that a vaccination caused their child to develop autism.
Eli Stone, ABC, Autism, and My Take on the Controversy Read More »
Regular readers of this blog know that my mother suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. That means our entire family suffers from the “long good-bye.” My dad, in particular, has been a saint of a caregiver, but he has watched the love of his life descend into the hell that strips them both of their quality of
A Reversal for Alzheimer’s Disease? Maybe. Read Behind the Headline. Read More »
Regular readers of this blog know that my mother suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease. That means our entire family suffers from the “long good-bye.” My dad, in particular, has been a saint of a caregiver, but he has watched the love of his life descend into the hell that strips them both of their quality of
A Reversal for Alzheimer’s Disease? Maybe. Read Behind the Headline. Read More »
From 2002 to 2003, about 101,000 Americans died from preventable causes ranging from diabetes to bacterial infections and surgical complications, so says a study releases this week. The reports are based on results from a study undertaken by the Commonwealth Fund, a private New York City based health policy foundation. The study took place among
Why Does the US Have the Worst Rate of Preventable Deaths Among Industrialized Nations? Read More »
