Patient Safety | Trisha Torrey

Patients Looking Out for Each Other – When Patients Know Best

4 Comments / Health /Medical Consumerism, Healthcare Quality, Medical and Research Studies, Patient Advocacy, Patient Empowerment, Patient Safety, Patient Tools, Self Help

When oncologists consider recommendations for their patients’ cancer treatment, they will often consider the guidelines published by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. They expect to find the latest information in effective treatment, based on the best research, along with information they can share with their patients. But it turns out, that may not be what’s […]

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Getting Away With Murder? Public Records, New York and Across the US

2 Comments / Follow the Money, Health /Medical Consumerism, Healthcare Quality, Hospitals, Medical Errors / Mistakes / Misdiagnosis, Patient Advocacy, Patient Empowerment, Patient Safety, Politics and Medicine

This post is two things: 1. A description of the problem which has to do with money, influence, and once again, it’s the little guy who will lose out. 2. A call to action for those who live in New York State – where the most egregious of examples is taking place now. (And may

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Chicken Little, Wishful Thinking and the 24 Hour News Cycle

Follow the Money, Health /Medical Consumerism, Media, Medical and Research Studies, Patient Empowerment, Patient Safety, Pharmaceutical Drugs, Politics and Medicine, You Bet Your Life!

One frightening and frustrating trend we’ve seen since the 24-hour news cycle became a reality (meaning – since we have all gotten used to, and expect, to get our news updated at anytime, day or night, everywhere) – credibility has taken a nose dive. We want to think we can count on the “facts” as

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Top Doctors and Best Hospitals – for a Price

1 Comment / Follow the Money, Patient Empowerment, Patient Safety

You mostly see them in airline magazines. But sometimes I see a banner or badge on a doctor’s website, or even a hospital’s billboard. Big proclamations they are! Dr. Horatio P. Speshultee is a TOP DOCTOR as ranked by some organization or another. Or ST. HARELDA’S HOSPITAL has been ranked #1! Oh really? Says who?

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Sometimes It’s Better to Just Say No

3 Comments / Doctor Communication, Follow the Money, Health /Medical Consumerism, Healthcare Quality, Patient Empowerment, Patient Safety, Patient Tools, Self Help

Story One: When I was a child (and we’re talking a lo-o-o-ng time ago – when doctors made house calls)… if I got an earache, I would suffer. REALLY suffer. Mom would drip some warm oil into my ear, and then stuff some cotton in behind it. She’d give me an orange flavored baby aspirin

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Why Rob a Bank When You Can Make More Money by Counterfeiting Drugs?

1 Comment / Follow the Money, Health /Medical Consumerism, Healthcare Quality, Hospitals, Media, Patient Empowerment, Patient Safety, Patient Tools

Want to make millions of dollars quickly while risking only a few months in prison if (and that’s a big IF) you’re caught? It’s not difficult at all. Just set yourself up as a distributor of counterfeit drugs in the United States. This week’s announcement by the FDA that a counterfeit version of Avastin, a

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10 Patient Empowerment Tips to Post on Your Refrigerator Door

3 Comments / Patient Empowerment, Patient Safety, Patient Tools, Pharmaceutical Drugs, Self Help

The information center in many homes is the refrigerator door. From family photos, to postcards to magnets from pizza shops, to phone numbers and kids’ artwork – the important ephemera of our lives can be found on refrigerator doors. So today I thought I would share some advice that is worth cutting out and sticking

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Healthy Travel Tips for the Holidays

Health /Medical Consumerism, Health Insurance, Healthcare Quality, Medical Errors / Mistakes / Misdiagnosis, Patient Empowerment, Patient Safety, Patient Tools, Self Help

This column first appeared in the Syracuse Post Standard November 22, 2011 ……………………………….. You may be among the millions of Americans who will travel during the upcoming holidays. Travel takes you out of your normal environment and disturbs your routine. If you have health issues, like a chronic disease, an injury, or even a short-term

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