MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'experience'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 01:53:28 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181799&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fimproving-doctor-patient-communication-to-provide-patient-centered-care%2F2011.09.01 The first experience patients are likely to have with your hospital is not in an ER visit or inpatient stay.  A patient’s first experience will most likely be in one of your primary-care physician offices.  That because a person is 10 times more likely during a year to end up in the physician’s office for a routine visit than they are to require an overnight hospital stay. As a hospital marketer or patient experience officer this should raise an interesting question. How well do your physicians–particularly your primary-care physicians–represent your brand? Take “patient-centeredness.” Lots of hospitals these days are promoting themselves as providing patient-centered care.  You know … when the hospital and its staff try where possible to be sensitive to and honor the wish... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181799 Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:00:05 +0100 5181799 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5181900&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F08%2F31%2Fif-i-could-go-back-to-college-id-be-a-little-more-practical%2F [If I Could Go Back is a series of articles that center around the college experience. Hindsight is 20/20, and sometimes the best advice we could ever give stems from experiences in our past that make us cringe just the tiniest bit.] “If I could do it all over again, I’d major in Education.” “Oh, me too. Either that or Business.” “I should have majored in Economics. At least then I’d have a real job.” These are not the words of slackers or lazy, “Generation Me” complainers. Nor is this a made up conversation invented by a conglomerate of strict parents hoping their children will study something safe in college. This dialogue was actually spoken, by real twenty-somethings, all of whom worked hard for good grades and big fellowships... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5181900 Wed, 31 Aug 2011 10:25:14 +0100 5181900 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5139673&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F08%2F17%2Fnarrative-matters-eleanor-clift-on-her-husbands-death-and-end-of-life-issues%2F In the newest Health Affairs Narrative Matters essay, prominent journalist Eleanor Clift writes about her husband Tom Brazaitis and his death from metastatic cancer at age 64. Clift describes the multiple ways in which she and her husband benefited from hospice care, in which Brazaitis spent the last four months of his life. Clift uses [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5139673 Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:19:54 +0100 5139673 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5107458&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F08%2Fwhy-ehrs-are-mission-hostile.html From "Revisiting E&M Visit Guidelines — A Missing Piece of Payment Reform" (free PDF as of this writing), Robert A. Berenson, M.D., Peter Basch, M.D, and Amanda Sussex, M.P.H., N Engl J Med 364;20 nejm.org May 19, 2011. Excerpt: ... Numerous problems have resulted. [From the CPT codes, Current Procedural Terminology codes used by physicians in billing, covering evaluation and management (E&M) services - ed.] The detailed guidelines often cause clinicians to overdocument, making the medical record an ineffective source of communication. ... A fundamental concern is that the office-visit descriptors and interpretive guidelines emphasize often-irrelevant elements of patients’ clinical histories and examinations, rather than decisionmaking and care-management activities. This is... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5107458 Mon, 08 Aug 2011 02:35:00 +0100 5107458 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5050506&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F07%2F18%2Fpatient-advocates-flies-in-the-ointment-of-evidence-based-care%2F The women recounted how their lives had been saved as they pleaded for the Food and Drug Administration not to withdraw approval for Avastin as a treatment for advanced breast cancer. They did so even without evidence that it provides benefit and with evidence that it confers risks. Their efforts were ultimately not successful: the [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5050506 Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:07:44 +0100 5050506 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5028490&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=38950&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shockmd.com%2F2011%2F07%2F13%2Fearly-clinical-experience-for-med-students%2F Buffer In The Netherlands most medical schools have voluntary first clinical experiences for first year medical students. Recent Dutch research looked at the learning goals and learning outcome of a 4 week nursing attachment in Year 1 of medical school. The students actively participate in patient care by working as assistant nurse in a hospital or a nursing home. The students take part in reflection meetings after two weeks and at the end of the attachment. Several learning goals are formulated for these attachments The main educational goal set by the medical school is learning to empathise with patients. Other formal educational goals are entering into conversation with patients, acquiring some practical skills, such as washing and dressing patients, and reflecting on feelings that acc... Dr Shock MD PhD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5028490 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 06:17:29 +0100 5028490 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4997670&cid=t_105890_118_f&fid=34702&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmspblog%2F%7E3%2FdTJltB93-fQ%2F // Hospitalized patients diagnosed with Clostridium Difficile (C Diff), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), or other infectious diseases are usually placed in contact isolation.  The upside to that is a private room, the downside is that for long hospital stays the patient experience can feel like solitary confinement.   Hospital employees must don gowns and gloves before entering the patient’s room, which requires the expenditure of two valuable and limited hospital resources, money and time.  I spent some time recently with a patient in contact isolation.  Every time an IV beeped, or a food tray needed to be brought in or taken out of the room, or the patient rang the call bell, staff would open the cabinet outside the patient’s room and place a yello... MSSPNexus Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4997670 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 17:37:17 +0100 4997670 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4984409&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F06%2F29%2Fback-from-the-brink-but-still-waiting-for-ptsd-benefits%2F On Monday, the federal government and the nation marked Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Awareness Day. In a statement noting the occasion, Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said: “We have a responsibility to help Americans who have lived through trauma, especially our nation’s service men and women who may be dealing with PTSD.  We [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4984409 Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:26:20 +0100 4984409 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4976036&cid=t_105890_122_f&fid=36582&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FSharpBrains%2F%7E3%2Ffuv1BBULwMs%2F The current issue of Cerebrum –a great publication of the Dana Foundation– includes the excellent in-depth article Promoting Healthy, Meaningful Aging Through Social Involvement: Building an Experience Corps, written by researcher Michelle Carlson: “Over the last decade, scientists made two key discoveries that reframed our understanding of the adult brain’s potential to benefit from lifelong environmental enrichment. First, they learned that the adult brain remains plastic; it can generate new neurons in response to physical activity and new experiences. Second, they confirmed the importance of social connectedness to late-life cognitive, psychological, and physical health. The integration of these findings with our understanding of individuals’ developmental needs throughout li... SharpBrains blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4976036 Tue, 28 Jun 2011 18:01:23 +0100 4976036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4968580&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F06%2F24%2Fintroducing-panic-about-anxiety%2F Lots of people experience panic attacks. For some people, it can get so bad that they also get agoraphobia — the fear of leaving one’s house. So I’m happy to introduce Panic About Anxiety with Summer Beretsky, a blog that will explore panic, agoraphobia and even topics about general anxiety in upcoming entries. If you’re not familiar with Summer, you can check out her archives at the World of Psychology blog. She is a graduate of the University of Delaware, where she received her Master of Arts degree in Communication. She enjoys writing about her experiences with anxiety, panic, and Paxil. She contributes to the World of Psychology blog here on PsychCentral and has written for the Los Angeles Times. You can follow her on Twitter @summerberetsky. You can read more about her here. W... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4968580 Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:34:41 +0100 4968580 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5029306&cid=t_105890_180_f&fid=38609&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidSeah-BetterLivingThroughNewMedia%2F%7E3%2FsIoA5_bwXio%2F I’ve been contemplating just how much time it takes to do anything worthwhile. By worthwhile, I mean something I’ve made that I can feel pretty damn good about. The following is some thoughts about the disparity between the amount of time needed to consume and the time needed to create. You’ve heard of the food chain, right? Humans are at the top of it, consuming whatever we feel like eating. Somewhere below that are bears, mountain lions, and other predators. Below them are many more smaller mammals that eat still smaller critters like bugs, which eat other smaller bugs that eat plants, and so on down to the bacterial level. We at the top eat delicious steak, largely oblivious of how many millions of organism-hours went into its production. The chain that is on my min... David Seah - Design, Development, Inspiration, Empowerment blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5029306 Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:51:22 +0100 5029306 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4952844&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthecommunications.files.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F06%2Fsatisifaction1.jpg While by no means a representative sample of how we think about physicians, there is a clear pattern to the comments.  A lot of people feel disrespected by their doctors…and they are pretty angry. Here’s what patients (including a lot of former patients) had to say.  I attempted to summarize the comments by category and included the top five categories of comments below. #1 – “Being on time is a two way street.” – patients are expected to be on time for their appointments – why aren’t physicians expected to be on time.   Doctors think and act as if their time is more valuable than the patient’s time. #2 – “Listen to what I have to say.” “Doctors should realize that many patients have more life experience and have done more research about a cond... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4952844 Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:00:04 +0100 4952844 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4872509&cid=t_105890_180_f&fid=38604&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmakeitgreat%2F%7E3%2FneS4RbRvBak%2F My wife and I love great customer service! She manages a team of people who talk to medical professionals and support staff who are frequently very stressed out, and she works hard to help her team understand the impact of great customer service with their ultimate customers, the residents who are serviced by her customers. Customer service can suck All too often we get horrible customer service, and together, we dissect what happened and talk about how we would do things better if it were us. Sometimes we share it (in a nice way) with the manager of where we got service from, and sometimes we just walk away. Great customer service matters And when we get outstanding customer service, we always take the time to write up a comment card or leave a message for the manager to let them know t... Phil Gerbyshak blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4872509 Thu, 26 May 2011 13:00:00 +0100 4872509 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4862626&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F25%2Ffinding-a-male-therapist-take-two%2F I had about 10 people forward me the New York Times article on the dwindling number of men going into counseling professions. Most of them know that male psychology is an area of special interest to me, and I’m also one of the only male therapists that they know. It has been interesting for me to learn that some controversy has emerged from the article, and the rationale for there being cause for alarm. The article essentially made the case that if fewer men go into counseling professions, then fewer men may want to attend because they feel more comfortable talking about certain topics with other men. Dr. Grohol wrote a fabulous piece on this blog yesterday making the counter-point that there is no research evidence to support that view. While I also understand this to be true, I sti... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4862626 Wed, 25 May 2011 21:08:17 +0100 4862626 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4852937&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F05%2F23%2F10-things-you-should-know-about-male-depression%2F What looks and feels like depression to a woman may not to a man, which is why so many men in America are misdiagnosed or missed altogether. However, considering that the rates of completed suicide of men are three to four times that of women, we need to educate ourselves about male depression and its unique symptoms. The following are 10 things you should know about male depression, compiled from Johns Hopkins Depression and Anxiety Bulletin and other sources. 1. Depression affects about 6 million American men and 12 million American women each year. But these numbers don’t tell the story of men, and older men, in particular. 2. Suicide in men peaks in the 20s and again in the 60s and 70s. 3. Many men experience “depression without sadness,” which makes it more challenging for prima... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4852937 Mon, 23 May 2011 16:45:23 +0100 4852937 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4813483&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F05%2F11%2Fwhat-can-your-medical-practice-learn-from-watching-the-show-iron-chef%2F I enjoy watching Iron Chef America. I am amazed that the Food Channel can create a show about cooking that is exciting, competitive, informative, nail biting and fun all in a single show. Theoretically, a competitive cooking show sounds boring. What is fun and exciting about that? But Iron Chef makes you root for a guy to pull out a lobster from the boiling water so he can plate it in time, while the other guy is running franticly chopping things up ’til the last minute all while the commentator gives a play, by play and insights as to the ingredients and technique of each chef. For those that haven’t seen the show, it consist of two chef (one is the iron chef and the other is the challenger) trying to make several dishes in an hour with a secret ingredient that is revealed to them... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4813483 Wed, 11 May 2011 14:00:18 +0100 4813483 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4794860&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhat-makes-a-great-oncologist%2F2011.05.06 I had a WOW experience yesterday when I accompanied my wife to interview a new doctor for her.   As some reader may know she is being seen by specialists at MD Anderson Medical Center in Houston for Stage IV lung cancer.   She has not had a local oncologist for the past 6 years…but she does now.   And we both love this guy! You need to understand that I have been very underwhelmed by the local oncologists I had met up till now.   I am sure they were clinically proficient…but as a group not a one could muster a smile….or any sense of interest or curiosity in my wife’s medical condition.  I held out little hope that this new doctor would be any different. After being ushered into the exam room, a Physician’s Assistant came into the room to get smart about my wife’s histo... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4794860 Fri, 06 May 2011 13:00:04 +0100 4794860 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4758725&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F04%2F27%2Fnew-narrative-matters-recording-on-itunes-u%2F Health Affairs today adds a new Medical Education recording to its free collection of Narrative Matters essays on iTunes U. The account was written by Fitzhugh Mullan, a physician and clinical professor of pediatrics and public health at the George Washington University and the original editor of the “Narrative Matters” section. The essay, “Me And [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4758725 Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:57:12 +0100 4758725 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4734715&cid=t_105890_180_f&fid=38612&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fpickthebrain%2FLYVv%2F%7E3%2FjQGcsv9ocjM%2F Many of us go through life without truly living it. Jonathan Swift once said; “There are only few who live today, most of us live tomorrow”. I have mostly lived in tomorrow, always looking forward, aiming for my goals. Many times I have let my happiness and well being today slide so that I can produce results that will benefit me in the future. Find Balance I wrote about this in depth in an earlier post here at Pick The Brain: How to find Balance in Life but I want to mention it here since it is an important subject. If you cannot balance your needs of today with the needs of tomorrow you will not be able to focus 100% on your goals and you won’t be able to continuously produce high quality results. How I try to Increase “daily living” As I said I have had a lot of problems focus... PickTheBrain | Motivation and Self Improvement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4734715 Thu, 21 Apr 2011 06:08:50 +0100 4734715 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4723942&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F18%2Funderstanding-research-methodology-4-peer-review-process%2F Conclusion The peer review process is not perfect, but it is the best safeguard we have against junk science. When evaluating the worth of scientific data, in addition to verifying its publication in a peer-reviewed journal, it is important to take into consideration:  funding sources, whether the study has been replicated, study design, sample size, and conflicting interest (design details and critiques will be discussed in later articles). When referencing scientific data, it is common for individuals to reference popular science magazines and books.  Be extra cautious when getting your science information from these sources. Of course, there is some good science information published in popular science publications.   But, when the authors cannot provide references for their scienti... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4723942 Mon, 18 Apr 2011 14:44:26 +0100 4723942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684480&cid=t_105890_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FmMI7NdGRF44%2F A few months back I got to know Anne Zeiger and brought her on as a blogger for a little while on EMR and EHR. She’s since moved on to a full time job writing about EMR and has started to create the website EHR Outlook. It’s still in the really early phases, but you can see a vision for what she’s trying to create. Anne is currently looking for more doctors who use an EMR so she can create some case studies of doctors’ EMR experiences. I know that I always learn best by looking at other people’s experiences, so I’m happy to help Anne find more doctors she can work with to create more case studies on EMR. If you’re a doctor or practice that would be willing to help Anne out, you can email her at: anneczieger@gmail.com I’ll be interested to see... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684480 Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:12:57 +0100 4684480 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4696592&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fspecial-k-red-berries-mission-hostile.html "You should not have to work around something that is not in the way" - SSThis post can be considered Part 9 of my multi-part series on the mission hostile user experience presented by commercial healthcare IT.Note: Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, part 4 is here, part 5 is here, part 6 is here, and part 7 is here, and part 8 is here.Special K® Red Berries is one of my favorite cereals.In this context, however, "Special K Red Berries" is a metaphor for cerebral and other hemorrhages caused by health IT getting in the way -- actually obstructing -- physicians ordering emergency medications such as vitamin K given via the fastest route, intravenously.A cerebral hemorrhage at post-mortem (obviously). Note the "red berry." Similarities in appearance to above cereal bowl ironic... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4696592 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:36:00 +0100 4696592 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4684213&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2011%2F04%2Fspecial-k-red-berries-mission-hostile.html "You should not have to work around something that is not in the way" - SSThis post can be considered Part 9 of my multi-part series on the mission hostile user experience presented by commercial healthcare IT.Note: Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, part 4 is here, part 5 is here, part 6 is here, and part 7 is here, and part 8 is here.Special K® Red Berries is one of my favorite cereals.In this context, however, "Special K Red Berries" is a metaphor for cerebral and other hemorrhages caused by health IT getting in the way -- actually obstructing -- physicians ordering emergency medications such as vitamin K given via the fastest route, intravenously.A cerebral hemorrhage at post-mortem (obviously). Note the big Red Berry.This EHR system, Eclypsis Sunrise Clinical Manager™,... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4684213 Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:36:00 +0100 4684213 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4676871&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F04%2F04%2Funderstanding-research-methodology-2-systematic-empiricism%2F Scientific research relies on the use of empirical data for acquiring knowledge.  Empiricism means making use of observation and experience.  Science goes beyond the use of the empiricism normally used in everyday life, however.  Scientific research employs systematic empiricism. Observation itself is necessary in acquiring scientific knowledge, but unstructured observation of the natural world will not lead to an increased understanding of the world. “Write down every observation you make from the time you get up in the morning to the time you go to bed on a given day. When you finish, you will have a great number of facts, but you will not have a greater understanding of the world.” (Stanovich & Stanovich, 2003, p. 12) Empiricism becomes systematic empiricism when it is stru... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4676871 Mon, 04 Apr 2011 09:54:10 +0100 4676871 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4615187&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F03%2F20%2Fyelp-and-therapist-reviews%2F Should you be able to review your psychotherapist on Yelp? That’s the question psychologist Keely Kolmes asks in The New York Times the other day, and the answer is — yes, but. There’s certainly nothing wrong with the idea behind having public reviews of health care professionals, including psychologists and therapists. But as Dr. Kolmes notes, what makes sense for a housekeeper, plumber or restaurant review becomes a bit difficult when dealing with confidential health information — which includes a person’s relationship with a therapist. A psychotherapy relationship is a very unique relationship. A person can have a bad therapy experience with a perfectly good therapist, and vice-a-versa. The current set of review websites, like Yelp, really aren’t very... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4615187 Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:58:53 +0100 4615187 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4610785&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F03%2F18%2Fpallone-cites-michael-oggs-narrative-matters-essay-in-class-act-hearing%2F Michael Ogg’s Narrative Matters essay in the January issue of Health Affairs “powerfully illustrates the realities of the current long-term care environment,” Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said yesterday at a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing.  Pallone, the panel’s senior Democrat, entered the essay into the hearing record. Ogg suffers from primary progressive multiple [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4610785 Fri, 18 Mar 2011 15:39:56 +0100 4610785 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4532256&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F03%2F01%2Fbest-of-our-blogs-march-1-2011%2F Do you know how many times a day I quote an article I read on Psych Central? I don’t know the exact number, but it’s quite often. I feel pretty lucky that I get to read so many articles on a daily basis. I read everything from the way people think to the latest research findings. Absorbing all that information not only makes me sound smart at parties, but I feel like I’m learning a lot professionally and personally as well. Take this week’s basket of blogs, for example. Adventures in Positive Psychology’s Joe Wilner discusses the importance of finding “flow” in your career-something my work here at Psych Central has definitely given me.  And although I’m not a parent, Family Mental Health teaches us something about parenting that we could al... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4532256 Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:19:26 +0100 4532256 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4525054&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F02%2F26%2F3-top-sources-of-psychology-myths%2F In a recent interview I asked Scott Lilienfeld, the author of 50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology, about the sources of psychology myths.  Here’s what he has to say about where psychology myths come from: The primary source is the huge, burgeoning pop psychology industry: self-help books, the internet, films, TV shows, magazines, and the like. But many of these myths also spring from the allure of our everyday experience; many of these myths seem persuasive because they accord with our common sense intuitions. But these intuitions are often erroneous. The public can defend themselves against shams by becoming armed with accurate knowledge. Many other fields — not just psychology — are subject to myths disseminated by the media. So what are some of the top sources of psy... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4525054 Sat, 26 Feb 2011 12:19:26 +0100 4525054 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517168&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ffaces-of-medical-error-the-story-of-michael-skolnik%2F2011.02.24 I was very sad and quite angry after watching a powerful video this weekend entitled ”The Faces of Medical Error: From Tears to Transparency.” It’s the story of Michael Skolnik. His mother, Patty, gave me the video when I met her recently. Michael had what may have been unnecessary brain surgery in 2001 and died three years later. The Skolniks worked on this video as part of an educational campaign on medical error, and they created an organization now named Citizens for Patient Safety. Here’s a trailer to the video: You can also watch a Today Show segment that profiled the Skolniks from a few years ago: While much of the message is about medical errors and malpractice, the Skolniks also promote a message of the “critical need for shared decision-making.&#... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517168 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 20:00:53 +0100 4517168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4512370&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F02%2F23%2Fmedical-errors-podcast-added-to-narrative-matters-itunes-u-collection%2F Health Affairs today added a podcast about medical errors to its free collection of podcasts of Narrative Matters essays on iTunes U. The essay was written by Michael Rowe, an associate clinical professor in the Yale School of Medicine. Titled “The Rest Is Silence,” it appeared in the July/August 2002 edition of Health Affairs. Health Affairs offers [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4512370 Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:43:08 +0100 4512370 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4477683&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F02%2F14%2Fsebelius-tells-story-of-ha-narrative-matters-author%2F In a speech last week at the Kaiser Family Foundation, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that the Administration was looking at ways to buttress the financing of a new long-term care insurance program included in the Affordable Care Act. This comes in response to concerns raised by President Obama’s National Commission on [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4477683 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:29:55 +0100 4477683 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4477684&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2011%2F02%2F14%2Fa-valentine-to-shared-decision-making%2F Shared decision making is hot right now. Research.  Surveys.  Tools.  Training.  Conferences.  Policies. The current model of shared decision making consists of providing patients with evidence that allows them to compare the risks and side effects of different treatments or preventive services when more than one option is available. After studying the evidence, the theory [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4477684 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:38:29 +0100 4477684 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4470532&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Falcoholism-affects-the-entire-family-2%2F …Not Just the AlcoholicHow many people are involved in the life of any one alcoholic? Family, friends, employer, co-workers… It is important to remember that all these people are affected by alcoholism-not just the alcoholic. Many of them spend a lot of time and energy trying to "fix" the alcoholic: covering up for them, punishing them, taking responsibility for them.For over 56 years, Al-Anon Family Groups (including Alateen for younger members) has been providing help and hope to families and friends of alcoholics. In non-professional, mutual support meetings, members share their own experience, strength, and hope to help one another to recover from the effects of alcoholism. Living with alcoholism has been described as living on a merry-go-round, where each family memb... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4470532 Sat, 12 Feb 2011 15:25:00 +0100 4470532 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4460007&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F02%2F10%2Fcoping-with-grief-on-valentines-day%2F Losing a loved one stays with us forever. But holidays, in particular, can make the loss even tougher to handle. “Holidays tend to cause anniversary reactions,” according to George A. Bonanno, Ph.D, professor and chair of the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology, Teachers College at Columbia University. Anniversary reactions occur on the anniversary of an important event or holiday. These times remind us of the person who’s no longer with us, which can cause the pain of grief, he said. “Even the most resilient people have this.” With its focus on love, relationships and romance, Valentine’s Day can be especially difficult. As Gloria Lloyd, bereavement community program educator at Mary Washington Hospice, said, it’s hard to escape the enthusiasm, because remin... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4460007 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:00:35 +0100 4460007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4445883&cid=t_105890_113_f&fid=39280&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FMarkHawker%2F%7E3%2FjiUxqoP4kCE%2F3163787708 (Source: Mark My Words 2.1) Mark My Words 2.1 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4445883 Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:24:13 +0100 4445883 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4414549&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F29%2Fan-interview-with-author-tim-farrington%2F This week I have the honor of interviewing Tim Farrington, the acclaimed novelist of Lizzie’s War, “The California Book of the Dead,” “Blues for Hannah,” as well as the New York Times Notable Book of 2002, “The Monk Downstairs.” Guess what? He’s one of us! And he articulates his journey through the hell of depression in a beautifully crafted memoir of sorts called “A Hell of Mercy: A Meditation on Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul.” Since that topic surfaces often on Beyond Blue, I thought I’d ask Tim to share his thoughts on both (depression and the dark night) with us. Hi Tim, and welcome! 1. Let me skip to the end (sorry, I like to eat dessert first), when you write “It is in surrender, in the embrace of ou... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4414549 Sat, 29 Jan 2011 11:40:25 +0100 4414549 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4355716&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdo-patients-have-clinical-judgment%2F2011.01.16 I used to think they didn’t, but they do. Clinical judgment is the application of individual experience to the variables of a patient’s medical presentation. It’s the hard-worn skill of knowing what to do and how far to go in a particular situation. It’s having the confidence to do nothing. Clinical judgment is learned from seeing lots of sick people. Good clinical judgment is when the gifted capacity of reasoning intersects with experience. Some doctors have better judgment than others. Aristotle called this phronesis – or practical judgment. Patients have practical judgment. We often can tell when something’s amiss with our own body. Things feel different or look different. Taking action on these observations is how we exercise judgment as patients. Parents of chi... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4355716 Sun, 16 Jan 2011 23:00:49 +0100 4355716 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4352764&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2011%2F01%2F15%2Fwhat-can-a-medical-practice-learn-from-bon-jovi%2F This past summer, I had a few parents complain to me about our staff. The parents wanted to let me know that they were treated nicely by the staff, but they had noticed things from the employees that they didn’t appreciate. They mentioned that the staff seemed annoyed and irritated, even bored at times and a bit disingenuous. I wanted to investigate the issue before I reprimanded the staff. Things sometimes aren’t always as they appear and of course, there are always two sides to every story. What I found out was that these “customer service” issues had occurred during the peak of our back-to-school-physical season. Moreover, the incidents consistently occurred during the last few visits of the day. Towards the end of the day, the staff was tired and the employees’ negative body ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4352764 Sat, 15 Jan 2011 11:00:05 +0100 4352764 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4337934&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwhen-doctors-and-patients-speak-different-languages%2F2011.01.12 I can’t say that I enjoy the patient encounter as much when it involves a translator. There’s just something about communicating through a third party that changes the experience. But there are some things you can do as a provider to bridge the language gap: Look. Even thought the translator is doing the talking, look at the patient just as if you are asking the question yourself. There’s a tendency to let the translator act as a surrogate with respect to eye contact and visual feedback. Smile. A smile doesn’t need translation. It conveys very clearly that have a sincere interest in making a connection. Touch. I never leave the exam room without some type of sincere physical contact. A firm handshake or a hand on the shoulder go a long way in closing the language barrier. Sa... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4337934 Wed, 12 Jan 2011 22:00:29 +0100 4337934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4305110&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fthe-promises-of-acoa-recovery%2F Image via WikipediaAdult Children of Alcoholics is an anonymous Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition program of women and men who grew up in an environment of addictiveness (alcohol or other substances) or in other-wise dysfunctional homes. Our willingness and resiliency bring us together.We share our experience, strength, and hope to validate our experience as well as give some hope to the new member. We take positive action in our lives today. By practicing the Twelve Steps, focusing on “The Solution”, and accepting a loving Higher Power of our own understanding, we find freedom from the past and a way to improve our lives.These are The Promises of ACoA RecoveryWe will discover our real identities by loving and accepting ourselves.Our self-esteem will increase as we give ourselves approval ... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4305110 Mon, 03 Jan 2011 03:46:55 +0100 4305110 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4302859&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-holidays-and-the-circle-of-life%2F2011.01.01 The holiday season is a time of both joy and sorrow. Tomorrow a childhood friend will be laid to rest — one of my favorite artists, Teena Marie, died unexpectedly two days ago and at least six other people have made their transitions as well. My own father died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve in 1981 leaving a great void in our family life. Why do people leave us during the holiday season? It has been said because they want to be remembered. While I lamented about all the transitions that occurred in the past two weeks, one of my best friends announced that she had a new granddaughter that was born on Christmas Day. She stated that this was part of the “life cycle” or “circle of life.” Her comments gave me reason to pause and reflect. (more…) *This blog p... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4302859 Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:00:47 +0100 4302859 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4302887&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2011%2F01%2F01%2F2011-the-power-of-positive-being%2F Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. ~Dalai Lama Last year I began the Proof Positive blog here at Psych Central. The goal was to review the best research in positive psychology and offer applications from this research for everyday use. All of the techniques for promoting wellbeing and happiness were drawn from the research literature, and I experimented with each of them. Some had more power that others, and some were more difficult to maintain. But overall there was a clear, strong, positive shift not only in my way of thinking, but also in the degree of positive experiences noted, encountered, and received. This is not to say that the miserable things that come with being human stopped happening, or the sorrows and grief from losses weren’t there; they certainly were. B... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4302887 Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:01:17 +0100 4302887 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294710&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F12%2F27%2Faccepting-imperfection%2F Professional organizer Debbie Jordan Kravitz was a perfectionist through and through. “I’ve struggled with perfectionism all my life. Between having parents with perfectionistic tendencies and my own people-pleasing and competitive nature, it’s been a part of me for as long as I can remember,” she said. As a wife and mom of two young kids, her perfectionism seeped into everything, no matter how big or small. She dwelled on her flaws and failures — defined essentially as “anything less than perfect.” But as any perfectionist truly knows, perfectionism is unreachable. It sabotages your self-image, squashes your satisfaction and turns life into a series of disappointments. In the book The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Wh... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294710 Mon, 27 Dec 2010 14:36:23 +0100 4294710 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4272287&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealth-2-0-is-it-a-threat-to-the-medical-profession%2F2010.12.20 The Internet has threatened journalism. Clay Shirky has said that everyone is a media outlet. An Internet connection and blogging platform makes everyone a publisher. Can the mass professionalization of journalism be applied to medicine or health? Can access to a broadband connection outfit a citizen to think and act like a physician? There are pieces of what physicians do that can be replicated, and other pieces that can’t. The technical things that doctors do can’t be replaced. Removing an appendix or replacing a heart valve, for example. Tough to pull off on CureTogether. But what about the thinking? After all, patients have access to the same information, references, and literature as physicians. Unfettered access to information can create an illusion. It can give us a fals... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4272287 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 14:00:04 +0100 4272287 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265855&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F12%2F18%2Fmovies-and-mental-health%2F I’m pleased to introduce Movies and Mental Health with Joseph Burgo, Ph.D. This blog is devoted to looking at films — both recent, contemporary movies and the classics — as an avenue for examining different aspects of the human experience. “I’m particularly interested in exploring and writing about the nexus between mental health issues and popular culture,” says Dr. Burgo. “From time to time, a book or TV show might also be an appropriate topic for discussion.” I love movies, and I love delving into the psychological aspects of their characters, because there are just so many darned good stories out there. So I must admit, I’m not only happy to introduce this new blog, but also will be an avid reader of it. Please head on over to Movies and Mental Health blog now and giv... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265855 Sat, 18 Dec 2010 13:20:03 +0100 4265855 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4237997&cid=t_105890_118_f&fid=34702&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fmspblog%2F%7E3%2FBnjHBn2g8QE%2F Patient experience, and thus patient satisfaction scores, are intrinsically linked with how a hospital or other healthcare organization handles its patient complaint and grievance process.  In addiiton to making good business sense, there are specific CMS regulations and Joint Commission standards that outline how hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers must manage patient grievances.  Lisa Venn, JD, MA, CHC, writes in Improving Patient Experience – A Critical Look at the Patient Grievance Process,  ”Dissatisfied patients take their business elsewhere and in this era of decreasing revenue, increasing competition and heightened patient expectations, no hospital can afford to lose business.  Dissatisfied patient may also complain to regulators, accreditors, and/or sue, creatin... MSSPNexus Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4237997 Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:27:46 +0100 4237997 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4233301&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F12%2F06%2Fis-your-front-desk-a-command-center%2F The front desk plays a big role in any practice. It can be either a bottleneck or an open water dam as far as patient flow. Likewise, the front desk can be the cause of a hemorrhage of money or work like a skilled plumber that makes sure no leaks (ie money, patient info, eligibility checks) are falling thru the cracks. A few years back, I realized that if we were to survive as a practice, we would have to make some changes to how the front desk functioned. Adapting to changes So I sat with the front desk and explained that from now on, they had a few more responsibilities they had to master. Simply handing people forms and checking people in is only the tip of the iceberg. The front-desk in essence would be the command center of operations for our practice. Kind of like a control tower at ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4233301 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 11:00:09 +0100 4233301 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4225204&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F12%2F02%2Fpodcasts-on-medical-errors-added-to-narrative-matters%25e2%2580%2599-itunes-u-collection%2F Eleven years ago today, the Institute of Medicine released To Err Is Human, a much-discussed report that launched the modern patient-safety movement. Just the other day, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine reminded us of how far we still have to go to protect patients from medical errors. To commemorate the anniversary [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4225204 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:36:08 +0100 4225204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4206036&cid=t_105890_133_f&fid=35124&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Faspergerwoman%2F%7E3%2FvoWr6_HJVlM%2Flight-in-darkness.html The past week I realised how stressful things have been lately. For months lots of serious things came upon my path. It was useful to deal with them. Now, finding my way to a new beginnning, my focus is set on finding Light in the Darkness. It's time to think things over and realise that what life is about. These days I have to deal with a special interest. After having the life experience in dealing with special interests, I know now what to expect. Somehow everytime this phrase of Aspergers shows itself with all his beautiful but also dark sides, I keep surprised by the impact this special interest might have. It is like a knock down, strangely enough a knock down which makes me get lots of extra energy. As we call those autism related special interest in Dutch "Fieps", my "Fiep" see... The Art of Being Asperger Woman blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4206036 Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:11:00 +0100 4206036 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4168086&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F11%2F15%2Fmedical-practices-don%25e2%2580%2599t-compete-on-price-compete-on-value%2F   Image Courtesy of: thisisindexed.com   When other establishments offer services that overlap a medical office’s services, like for example, CVS and Walgreens offering flu shots, or retail clinics offering inexpensive school physicals, I read and hear about medical offices rushing to match prices in an effort to stay competitive. BAD IDEA Competing on price is almost always a bad idea. Why? It is a bad idea because it diminishes the services private medical offices provide. By “matching” retail clinics, or other low end establishment, a medical practice is suggesting that there is a not a qualitative differentiation between their services, expertise, and knowledge when compared to these businesses. In other words, offering service for as cheap as a retail, drive-by clinic ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4168086 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:00:49 +0100 4168086 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4142808&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F11%2F06%2Fon-mourning-the-death-of-a-pet%2F My friend, Priscilla, just lost her best friend (okay, after her husband, Jimmy). On her blog, she writes: Our beloved golden retriever died this morning, peacefully, after spending a wonderful week by our side on Martha’s Vineyard, at the beach, where she ran into the ocean, and in the woods, where she took a long walk with me. She was 14 years old, my zen teacher, and my most constant meditation partner. We loved her so much. I know how traumatic losing a pet can be. I’m bracing for it myself, as one or both of our two Retriever-Chow mutts could go in the next two years. I found the Pet Loss Support Page online, which includes “Ten Tips on Coping with Pet Loss” from Moira Anderson Allen, M.Ed. I’ve excerpted the first five below. Anyone who considers a pet ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4142808 Sat, 06 Nov 2010 16:01:32 +0100 4142808 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4125306&cid=t_105890_175_f&fid=39258&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmypatraining.com%2F2010%2F10%2F31%2Fnew-page-medical-experience%2F Applying to PA training schools?  We’ve added a new page relating to the medical experience requirement for PA School applications.  It’s called “Applying to PA School: Medical Experience,” and you can find it to the right in the “Other Stuff” menu.  If you have your own ideas about obtaining medical experience, leave a comment so [...] (Source: Palpating the Field) Palpating the Field blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4125306 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 02:01:24 +0100 4125306 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4122108&cid=t_105890_175_f&fid=39258&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmypatraining.com%2F2010%2F10%2F31%2Fnew-page-medical-experience%2F We’ve added a new page relating to the medical experience requirement for PA School applications.  It’s called “Applying to PA School: Medical Experience,” and you can find it to the right in the “Other Stuff” menu.  If you have your own ideas about obtaining medical experience, leave a comment so everyone can benefit.  Hope you [...] (Source: Palpating the Field) Palpating the Field blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4122108 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 02:01:24 +0100 4122108 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097885&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F10%2F21%2Fnarrative-matters-refusing-mammograms-and-caring-for-elderly-parents%2F Which groups of women, if any, should get regular mammograms to screen for breast cancer? This question has been the subject of passionate debate. For example, when the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended that women without special risk factors begin regular mammograms at age 50, rather than 40, it unleashed an uproar that threatened [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097885 Thu, 21 Oct 2010 15:48:00 +0100 4097885 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4074061&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdoes-it-matter-what-the-hospitalist-thinks%2F2010.10.15 I read this article about a young child with heterotaxy syndrome with great interest. Not because I find heterotaxy syndrome something of great fascination, but because of the lack of communication — on both ends of the spectrum: Even though 5 other Dr. all came in and listened to his lungs and said that he didn’t sound like he was wheezing and that his lungs sounded really good. But because this hospital is overly political, process driven, bureaucratic, and in a constant state of litigious fear they are unable to make any conclusions based on actual medicine and patient care. Common sense is blown out the window when you  have a system were a hospitalist one year out of medical school has an opinion that is as valuable as a cardiologist with 25+ years experience. But in�... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4074061 Fri, 15 Oct 2010 21:00:00 +0100 4074061 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4065336&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F10%2F13%2Fhealth-affairs-podcasts-now-available-on-itunes-u%2F Health Affairs podcasts are now available on iTunes U, a dedicated area within the iTunes Store that offers free educational content. You can find weekly announcements about the newest podcasts on the Health Affairs Facebook page.  The Health Affairs iTunes collection includes Health Affairs news events—issue briefings, newsmaker breakfasts, and other discussions about health policy.  It also [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4065336 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:31:44 +0100 4065336 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4053344&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F10%2F09%2Fa-12-step-meeting-on-the-air-an-interview-with-denise-mcintee%2F Earlier this year, I had the privilege of being interviewed on “Steppin’ Out Radio” by WABC-TV Sports Anchor and Reporter Scott Clark. Producer Denise McIntee formed her company, Powerful Radio Productions, to communicate true stories of inspiration and recovery from substance abuse. Denise lives in Sparkill, New York with her twin daughters, Danielle and Dominique, and her husband Mike who works for the Late Show with David Letterman. To find out more about her work, please visit their website at www.steppinoutradio.com. Question: How is Steppin’ Out like a 12-step meeting anywhere in the world? Denise: Steppin’ Out is like a 12 step meeting anywhere in the world because we tell the true stories from real people who have overcome their problems and who unself... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4053344 Sat, 09 Oct 2010 12:49:29 +0100 4053344 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4023007&cid=t_105890_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F09%2F29%2Fday-40-through-day-5-its-all-a-blur%2F Blur (blûr) v. To make indistinct and hazy in outline or appearance; obscure. To smear or stain; smudge. To lessen the perception of As those who follow this blog know, we have been counting down from the 90 day mark toward our grand opening. The actual countdown has been expanded by the time-space continuum in that as you approach the speed of light time actually slows down. Crossover Health Showroom feature wall and self check in area. Crossover is all about a simple, affordable, and efficient health care experience. However, the last 35 days have zoomed by without me providing the regular updates so here you go: Finished buildout Finished finish work Completed cement work in Showroom Build out of furniture (we did it all at Ikea!) Worked out workflow issues with new software, n... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4023007 Wed, 29 Sep 2010 06:48:53 +0100 4023007 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4013125&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F09%2F28%2Fremembering-robert-butler%2F On July 7, Robert Butler died of leukemia. Butler was the founding director of the National Institute on Aging, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and one of the nation’s leading authorities on aging and geriatrics. This post, by William Hazzard, Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington and Director of Geriatrics and Extended Care for the VA [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4013125 Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:28:47 +0100 4013125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3994121&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F09%2F22%2Fwhat-can-a-medical-practice-learn-from-norman-rockwell%2F This past summer I got a chance to visit Washington DC. While I was there, I saw a Norman Rockwell exhibition at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. As it turned out, the exhibition was the private collection of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. The exhibition highlighted Rockwell’s masterful storytelling. I didn’t know much about Norman Rockwell before that day. I knew he was a famous American painter and I had seen a few of his replicas in restaurants. But after seeing the exhibition, I got a deep, deep appreciation of Rockwell and especially, how he was able to communicate an entire story with a single frame. The Old Days My 75 year old grandfather was with me that day and told me how, back in the day, he couldn’t wait to get the Post Magazine to see Rockwell’s cover and to r... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3994121 Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:00:36 +0100 3994121 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3938309&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F09%2Fultimate-workaround-to-mission-hostile.html "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first bionic doctor. Dr. Data will be that doctor; better worse than he was before. Better, stronger, faster Worse, weaker, slower." -- parody of Oscar Goldman from the 1970's scifi series The Six Million Dollar Man."Gentlemen, we can rebuild him."The EMR is a technology that was supposed to improve clinical medicine (revolutionize it, some say). It was supposed to facilitate clinical medicine. It was not supposed to slow physicians and others down to the point of impairing their ability to practice medicine.However, the rosy predictions are not proving to be the case. Instead, we have the ultimate workaround to the health IT mission hostile user experience:Los Angeles TimesSeptember 6, 201... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3938309 Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:34:00 +0100 3938309 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3920960&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F08%2F31%2Fwhat-is-your-turbo%2F When I was growing up, turbo was the marketing word to describe better. When a toy was labeled turbo, it was better than the one that was not labeled turbo. Of course, the word turbo didn’t make the toy any better than the others, but as a kid, if it had the word turbo, it meant it was superior. Today, things have changed. Turbo may not be the best way to describe to people that a product or service is better; but that doesn’t mean companies aren’t finding ways to give customers a sense that what they are getting is far superior than the rest. Companies are still striving for that something that others can’t match, but they are calling it different now. Enter the “user experience.” The turbo of yesterday has been replaced with the “user experience.” The experience... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3920960 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 15:00:37 +0100 3920960 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3914951&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F08%2F30%2Frobert-butlers-legacy%2F Editor’s note: Earlier this summer, on July 7, Robert Butler died of leukemia. Butler was the founding director of the National Institute on Aging, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, and one of the nation’s leading authorities on aging and geriatrics. With the essay below by Christine Cassel, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine, Health [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3914951 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:01:06 +0100 3914951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3911665&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F08%2F27%2Frevisiting-%25e2%2580%2598witness-to-disaster%25e2%2580%2599-first-person-accounts-of-katrina%25e2%2580%2599s-aftermath%2F Gulf Coast residents have only recently been able to mark, in Churchill’s words, “the end of the beginning” of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This week, these Americans and the entire nation also mark the fifth anniversary of another disaster: Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Several months after these devastating storms, in its March/April 2006 edition, [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3911665 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:06:38 +0100 3911665 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3899328&cid=t_105890_83_f&fid=34856&url=http%3A%2F%2Finsidesurgery.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fdesigner-hospital-gowns-debut-cleveland-clinic%2F In one of the true medical advances of this young century, Diane von Furstenberg designed hospital gowns are now being trialed at the Cleveland Clinic in an attempt to provide more patient comfort, security, and warmth. The effort is being lead by nurse Jeanne Ryan of the Office of Patient Experience. (Source: Inside Surgery) Inside Surgery blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3899328 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 02:50:19 +0100 3899328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3899648&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Frecoveryissexy.com%2Fwhat-are-sexuality-and-sexual-health%2F Sexuality is reflected in the total expression of who we are as human beings. It encompasses our values, attitudes, behaviors, physical appearance, beliefs, emotions, and personality, as well as the way in which we have been socialized. It involves our sexual identity and orientation. It begins before birth and lasts a lifetime. The expression of sexuality is influenced by ethical, spiritual, cultural, and moral factors, and it involves giving and receiving sexual pleasure, as well as enabling reproduction. Sexuality is a total sensory experience involving the whole mind and body, not only the genitals. Sexual health refers to factors that enable us to enjoy and control our sexual and reproductive lives, including the quality of our sexual and other close relationships... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3899648 Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:28:53 +0100 3899648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3872514&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F08%2F16%2Fnarrative-matters-the-paralyzing-power-of-shame%2F Precisely two weeks after completing my medical internship, I proceeded to nearly kill a patient. July marked the start of my second year of residency at New York City’s Bellevue Hospital, and it was my first time being fully in charge of a patient. So begins Danielle Ofri’s Narrative Matters essay in the August issue [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3872514 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:22:32 +0100 3872514 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3823130&cid=t_105890_136_f&fid=39212&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbahtocancer.com%2F2010%2F08%2Fquestions-questions-2%2F Trawling through the post-Tallinn post, I found a Patient Survey from St. George’s Hospital, which was the hub, if you like, of the cancer treatment I had.  (Although I went to the Royal Marsden for radiotherapy and feeling a little bit patronised.) I do love a survey, especially if it’s the alternative to phone bills and Viking catalogues, so I got right down to it. But I was sadly disappointed. Dissapointment 1: The survey asks about waiting times and quality of written information, but there’s very little about verbal communication, questions being answered, and the hospital’s relationship with the individual – which I think really need to be measured. Disappointment 2: I realise this is a particular bugbear of mine and probably doesn’t bother most p... Bah! to cancer blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3823130 Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:18:51 +0100 3823130 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3813050&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=38950&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shockmd.com%2F2010%2F08%2F03%2Fwhy-some-people-dont-like-the-humor-of-monthy-python%2F This image above shows two types of humor. One based on incongruity-resolution, the cartoon on the left. The other also based on incongruity-resolution but provoked by a nonsense cartoon on the right. Humor of nonsense jokes and cartoons is a different sense of humor according to recent research. Not in the sense of the neural processing of humor in the brain or to their structural properties but they differ in content. The common element of these humorous stimuli is that in their processing the recipient first discovers an incongruity. This incongruity can be easily resolved upon reinterpretation of the information available in the joke or cartoon. The cartoon on the left. Or on the other end of the spectrum, the cartoon on the right it can’t be easily resolved. It’s complete... Dr Shock MD PhD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3813050 Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:03:36 +0100 3813050 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3790704&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fthe-dumbing-down-of-nursing-academics%2F2010.07.26 I’m embarrassed to say this, but the nursing profession is making a mockery of healthcare education by downgrading the post-graduate degree process. The nursing education requirements in the advertisement seen here are an embarrassment to the nursing profession. Mrs. Happy pointed out an advertisement from her nursing magazine offering advanced nursing education opportunities. This advertisement for the doctor nurse practitioner (DNP) training track at Creighton University is a mockery of the rigorous educational requirements necessary to care for patients independently. Check out the nursing education requirements on their advertisement: No entrance exam required?  No clinical experience?  No thesis required?  What has this world come to? These are professionals who are going to... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3790704 Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:00:00 +0100 3790704 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3786183&cid=t_105890_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F07%2F23%2Fday-46-succinct-health-care-is-there-an-app-for-that%2F Succinct (sək-sĭngkt’) adj. Characterized by clear, precise expression in few words; concise and terse. Marked by or consisting of few words that are carefully chosen The other day I was having a conversation with our Director of Membership Experience Stephen Gaines regarding how ineffective and inadequate the current health care experience is for patients.  As our conversation wound around we ended up discussing some principles from Stephen R. Covey’s book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People“. I suggested that Stephen should purchase the book as it is a great read on alot of levels. Before I could even finish the conversation, Stephen had pulled out his iPhone, typed a few things into his Amazon app, and before I had finished my conversational parag... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3786183 Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:38:43 +0100 3786183 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3776342&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F07%2F21%2Fcalculating-caring%2F The small waiting room was packed with young mothers holding teary-eyed toddlers, older folks with resting tremors and oxygen tanks, and an obese man just stepping in from a smoke. I’m a family physician about to share my afternoon with each of them, in a working-class western Pennsylvania town. Walking quickly through the room on [...] (Source: Health Affairs Blog) Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3776342 Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:07:07 +0100 3776342 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3761500&cid=t_105890_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F07%2F16%2Fdirector-of-members-experience-imagineering-the-future-of-health%2F * Guest post by Stephen Gaines, Crossover Health’s Director of Member Experience. He previously discussed the value of membership and now shares his unique role at the company to ensure each and every member experiences next generation care. The Disney Influence Living in Orange County, California, it’s next to impossible not notice the “Disney Influence.”  Most of us at one time or another have had annual passes (I have mine) to Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure.  We’ve visited the resort to Celebrate birthdays, family reunions and even an played an occasional day of hookey from the office.  We’ve spent an evening or two at Downtown Disney and have been mesmerized each night at by the 9:30 fireworks. The thing that makes the Disney Experience so magical is... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3761500 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:28:41 +0100 3761500 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3761392&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F07%2Fmaude-database-patient-outcome-death.html I present another health IT problem case from the FDA's voluntary MAUDE (Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience) database below.From FDA's description of MAUDE:MAUDE data represents reports of adverse events involving medical devices. The data consists of voluntary reports since June 1993, user facility reports since 1991, distributor reports since 1993, and manufacturer reports since August 1996. MAUDE may not include reports made according to exemptions, variances, or alternative reporting requirements granted under 21 CFR 803.19. The on-line search allows you to search CDRH database information on medical devices which may have malfunctioned or caused a death or serious injury. MAUDE is scheduled to be updated monthly and the search page reflects the date of the most recent up... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3761392 Fri, 16 Jul 2010 11:13:00 +0100 3761392 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3750127&cid=t_105890_113_f&fid=36694&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.crossoverhealth.com%2F2010%2F07%2F13%2Flearning-from-amex-membership-has-its-privileges%2F * This is a guest post by Stephen Gaines, our Director of Membership Experience at Crossover Health. He will be talking about his role, what he does, and how everything we do is focused around how the Crossover brand can consistent deliver an exceptional experience in future posts In 1958, American Express redefined the “Charge Card,” by introducing the American Express Card.  The card was a far cry from today’s modern Credit Cards.  It was made of paper and had the card members name typed on it.  The membership fee was $6 a year and required the member to pay the balance in-full each month.  What made membership so popular was the worldwide network of offices, travel agents and associated banks that were available to card members.  Before it’s release date of October 1, 1958,... Crossover Healthcare blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3750127 Tue, 13 Jul 2010 23:40:31 +0100 3750127 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3733124&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F07%2F07%2Fare-you-a-picky-eater-or-selective-eater%2F As kids, many of us engaged in what our parents called “picky eating” — “Don’t be such a picky eater — try it, you might like it!” For whatever reasons, most kids grow out of most of their picky eating habits and learn to try new foods. Some of us may have a few food hangups, avoiding certain popular foods like the plague. But for most, eating different foods is part and parcel of the culinary experience. Some adults, however, don’t grow out of their picky eating habits and, in fact, it may sometimes get even worse as they grow older. Adults with picky eating habits (also known as “selective eating”) may find it more difficult to eat in social situations, because of the limited choices on their own personal food menu. Nobody knows... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3733124 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:45:19 +0100 3733124 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3729873&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fsingle-session-psychotherapy-the-cab-driver-story%2F2010.07.06 Here’s a story that came out of the American Psychological Association (APA) conference: I was in a cab going to dinner. The cab driver found out I was a psychiatrist so he told me about his life-changing experience with therapy. At one time he was having an incredible problem with his life. He was using cocaine, couldn’t keep a job, and his relationships were going down the tubes. Therapy helped him quit cocaine and change all that. (Which was good, since he was the driver of my cab. I really wanted him not to be high or in distress.) This kind of turn-around story isn’t unusual for me — parolees will often come back and tell me about things they’ve done in free society that they’re proud of. The unusual part of this story is the fact that he made all o... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3729873 Wed, 07 Jul 2010 01:00:00 +0100 3729873 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3690840&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fwill-physician-education-be-valued-in-the-future%2F2010.06.23 The future of American healthcare will not value physician education. Perhaps it’s time to abandon the medical school model and train millions of nurses instead at a fraction of the cost. This comment was left on my blog over at NP=MD: I don’t even compare NPs and MDs. Their models differ. One is not better than the other. The schooling — minus the residency — is nearly equivalent in terms of time spent. The problem is that NPs don’t get a long enough residency. If you take a NP and a MD, both with 20 years clinical experience, the MD does not know more than the NP. Sure, he had a few extra classes 20 years ago — which he doesn’t remember — but that’s about it. NPs aren’t trying to steal MDs’ meal tickets, they’re a... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3690840 Wed, 23 Jun 2010 14:00:00 +0100 3690840 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3683675&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F06%2F21%2Fshall-we-flow%2F “Like a graceful vase, a cat, even when motionless, seems to flow.” — George F. Will You have either had the experience or heard about it: Flow has been in the global consciousness since Mihaly Csikszentmihaly’s book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience was released 35 years ago. Back then it was revolutionary, now it is woven into our popular language and culture. We’ve heard about it, read about it, and want it in our lives. But what is flow? It is a very enjoyable experience marked by a sense of timelessness and engagement. In his own words, Csikszentmihaly said it is “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your wh... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3683675 Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:15:10 +0100 3683675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644706&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Fpatient-choice-how-patients-choose-and-how-providers-respond%2F Title: Patient choice: How patients choose and how providers respond The Skinny: King’s Fund report that considers how choice of provider is operating in practice and its impact on hospital providers. More specifically, the report aims to answer the following questions. How do patients experience choice? What factors are important to patients when choosing between providers? How do GPs support choice? How are providers responding to choice? Shows that patients valued aspects of quality when choosing a hospital but in practice, most patients chose to be treated by their local provider and few consulted published performance information on quality to help them choose, instead relying on past experience and their GP’s advice. On the provider side the threat of patients choosing a differ... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644706 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:03:23 +0100 3644706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644707&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Faccounting-for-quality-to-the-local-community-findings-from-focus-group-research%2F Title: Accounting for quality to the local community: Findings from focus group research The Skinny: King’s Fund report that assesses how far current plans for quality accounts meet the need to increase NHS accountability by making more information about quality available to the public. It outlines the conclusions of focus groups that were conducted with local community representatives, such as members of local involvement networks (LINks) and health overview and scrutiny committees (HOSCs), and with members and governors of foundation trusts. The paper argues that providers should look at quality accounts as a year-round process and should seek input from their local community from the outset and that providers and local community representatives need to work together to determine a des... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644707 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 08:02:50 +0100 3644707 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3644710&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F06%2F09%2Fgetting-the-most-out-of-proms-putting-health-outcomes-at-the-heart-of-nhs-decision-making%2F Title: Getting the most out of PROMs: Putting health outcomes at the heart of NHS decision-making The Skinny: King’s Fund report report aims to provoke and encourage thinking about the wide range of ways in which PROMs data can be used to inform decisions. It draws on Bupa’s example to discuss how providers can use PROMs data to improve clinical performance. It also offers practical advice for commissioners in using PROMs data to assess value for money and decide how to purchase health care systems. Shows how measuring outcomes from the patient perspective has the potential to lead to important improvements in service delivery and patient health. Publisher: The King’s Fund Size of Publication: 92p. Published: 11/03/2010 Filed under: Grey Literature, NHS, Quality Tagged: Grey Literat... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3644710 Wed, 09 Jun 2010 07:48:44 +0100 3644710 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3640984&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F06%2F07%2Fnarrative-matters-a-case-of-medical-homelessness%2F In a Narrative Matters essay in the May issue of Health Affairs, Jack Colwill, a physician, describes his brother-in-law John’s last months and eventual death.  Colwill, also a professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of Missouri–Columbia, explains that the suffering of John and his wife, Jeanne, was needlessly magnified by John’s “medical homelessness”: None of the doctors seeing John ever accepted responsibility for providing and coordinating his overall care. … What John and Jeanne needed was a patient-centered medical home committed to meeting their needs—but they never had one. In reality, John was medically homeless, even though a primary care physician and a pulmonologist had maj... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3640984 Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:32:29 +0100 3640984 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3611892&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F05%2Fdid-epic-ceo-judy-faulkner-of-epic.html At the HisTALK blog 5/31/10 update, a site with thousands of readers involved in all aspects of health IT, the following anonymous (at this point) report appeared:From Tabula Rosa: “Re: EMR usability. At one of the ONC Policy Committee meetings, [founder and CEO] Judy Faulkner of Epic supposedly declared that ‘usability would be part of certification over her dead body.’ I wonder if she has similar sentiments about making software accessible to people with disabilities?” Unverified. This inspired my new poll question – keep reading below. Epic Systems Corporation is one of the largest health IT vendors in the U.S.If this report is true, it would have very, very serious implications towards the healthcare IT industry's attitudes about the usability - and ultimately the safety - of... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3611892 Sun, 30 May 2010 12:10:00 +0100 3611892 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3603598&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealth-insurance-and-medical-loss-ratio-foolishness%2F2010.05.25 Like Ezra Klein, smart people keep saying foolish things about the health insurance business. This time it’s a pair of bloggers talking about the largest expense that health insurers face — their “medical loss ratio.” According to Richard Dale at the Venture Cyclist: [W]hy do they call it Medical Loss Ratio? Why is looking after me (or you) called “Medical Loss,” when the whole point of a healthcare system is to look after me (or you)? (Sigh.) Alan Katz, one of the leading health insurance bloggers, surprisingly links to this with approval, saying “words matter.” The problem? The word “loss” is probably one of the four oldest words in the insurance industry. I’d say the others are probably “premium,” “commission,” and “profit.” Should we start outlawi... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3603598 Wed, 26 May 2010 01:00:39 +0100 3603598 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577331&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F19%2Fsharing-the-learning-user-led-organisations-action-and-learning-sites-2008-2010%2F Title: Sharing the learning: user-led organisations action and learning sites 2008-2010 Skinny: Guide that describes the background to establishing the user-led organisations action and learning sites, and provides a snapshot of the good practice resources resulting from this project. Publisher: DH Size of Publication:33p. Published: 17/03/2010 Filed under: Communication, Grey Literature, NHS, Stakeholder Engagement Tagged: Good Practice, Grey Literature, Patient Experience, Stakeholder Engagement (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577331 Wed, 19 May 2010 13:25:40 +0100 3577331 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3577349&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F05%2F19%2Fnational-cancer-patients-experience-survey-programme-2010%2F Title: National Cancer Patients’ Experience Survey Programme 2010 Annex A Skinny: Identifies that the Review of Central Returns Steering Committee (ROCR) have approved a national survey of cancer patients’ experiences in all Trusts who offer adult acute cancer services . This survey is highlighted as a priority in the NHS Operating Framework 2010/11, section 2.24. Publisher: DH Size of Publication: 3p. Published: 10/03/2010 Filed under: Grey Literature, Quality, Stakeholder Engagement Tagged: Cancer, Dear Colleague Letters, Grey Literature, NHS Operating Framework 2010/11, Patient Experience, Quality (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3577349 Wed, 19 May 2010 06:34:31 +0100 3577349 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3564029&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F05%2F13%2Fon-being-a-student-therapist-end-of-semester-reflections%2F It’s taken me a while to compose this last blog of the semester. How does one wrap up the teachings of 52 client sessions in just a few hundred words? Of course, by no means is this the end of my writings about my work, but the end of my practicum experience has arrived, and with it, thoughts and reflections on my first months as a counselor. When my supervisor gave me my end-of-the-semester review, she gave me a great compliment, saying that I “seem very comfortable in my skin” and how that is a great asset for a counselor. Of all the words of praise she had given me over the past few months, those meant the most. Years of my own therapeutic work got me to the place I am today, a place where I can be of most help to others. It has been a long, often difficult, but also rewarding jou... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3564029 Thu, 13 May 2010 16:30:12 +0100 3564029 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3545572&cid=t_105890_133_f&fid=35084&url=http%3A%2F%2Fballastexistenz.autistics.org%2F%3Fp%3D628 I was trying to explain to someone what it meant when I said that I spend  so much time “beneath” words, and have to climb up to them from below. And it hit me that I could depict all of the different layers I go through one on top of the other. I once depicted them (but not all of them, and not showing them as layers) before, so I already knew some of how to do this. I used cut out pieces of construction paper to do the top six layers, and paint for the bottom two. I’m numbering the eight layers from bottom to top, but describing them from top to bottom. So I am going to start with the eighth layer.  Also these are the layers for written language specifically. Some of them do correspond to spoken words.   The eighth (top) layer shows the words, “Don’t yo... Ballastexistenz blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3545572 Sat, 08 May 2010 01:14:25 +0100 3545572 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3529841&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2010%2F05%2F03%2Fintroducing-coming-out-crazy%2F I’m pleased to introduce Coming Out Crazy with Sandy Naiman. With years of journalistic experience and mental health advocacy, this former Toronto Sun blogger will engage us passionately in an ongoing dialogue on mental health issues from her perspective. Sandy has lived with serious mental health issues since her adolescence, and began writing and speaking about it in 1998. She was on the staff of The Toronto Sun for more than 30 years, and in April 2008, was contacted by The Toronto Star to blog for their site.  Sandy has been blogging on their site, Healthzone.ca, for the past two years about mental health issues and advocacy. She speaks regularly at conferences on these same topics, and is well known as an engaging storyteller as she weaves her personal tales into the research o... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3529841 Mon, 03 May 2010 16:55:12 +0100 3529841 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3511711&cid=t_105890_134_f&fid=35187&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDiabetesDaily%2F%7E3%2FXfgpUMblqus%2Fthe-wonder-of-stories.php I attended a nearby "pump users" group meeting last night.  This is an awesome group that usually meets monthly.  There is often a certain topic they cover, and sometimes there is a speaker, but they also do "round table" type discussions.  I would like to make it to more meetings, but it's about a 40 minute drive for me, right in the middle of rush-hour traffic.  All that traffic, along with a relatively early start time, make it difficult for me to attend most of the time.  But last night, as I sat there listening to all of the great discussion I was humbled by all of the diabetes experience in the room. Each and every person in the room taught me new things about living life with diabetes.  It was really something special.You know what the most incredible ... Diabetes Daily blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3511711 Wed, 28 Apr 2010 03:55:41 +0100 3511711 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3440772&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=36438&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FCato-at-liberty%2F%7E3%2Fb4A_3dX2AIg%2F By David BoazThat’s the question that John Stossel will be asking Thursday night to a motley collection of guests, including P. J. O’Rourke, Andrew Napolitano, Jeffrey Miron, and me. Tune in the Fox Business Network at 8:00 p.m. ET. It repeats many times, as noted here, but you know, it’s like the NCAA championship: you don’t want to watch the repeat on ESPN Classic, you want to watch it live with everyone else for the collective experience. So be there at 8:00 Thursday. Or of course you could just read Libertarianism: A Primer and The Libertarian Reader. (Source: Cato-at-liberty) Cato-at-liberty blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3440772 Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:53:27 +0100 3440772 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3370686&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FJZHDHIisrO0%2F The drug manufacturing industry has produced a variety of drugs which, to all intents and purposes, alleviate the cravings of addicts. Apart from the fact that the long term effects of the most recent drugs are yet to emerge, it is questionable whether or not any of these drugs will satisfy the psychological and emotional cravings of addicts for the experience of the high or the oblivion that many addicts consciously or unconsciously seek. In the interim Carl Jung’s prescient comments are worth recalling: Science has no answer to this problem, psychotherapy alone is useless, what is required is a spiritual experience (Jung, Carl G. Letters to Bill ‘W’, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. 1961 Jan) The terms ‘spiritual experience’ and ‘spiritual awakening’ are referred to in t... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3370686 Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:40:00 +0100 3370686 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3363812&cid=t_105890_140_f&fid=35463&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Fdark-days.html Continued from "The Truth Revealed"June 2002Things were so different in the psychiatric hospital than they were in the psychiatric ward in the general hospital. It was like stepping into another world. On the psychiatric ward where Mr Man had been for his first 3 weeks, the staff mixed freely with the patients. They chatted, they drank coffee together, they went for walks in the grounds, and they played board games. In the psychiatric hospital the staff always seemed to be cooped up in the staff room, engrossed in conversation with other staff members, and not in any mood to be disturbed. Don’t be mistaken; I don’t mean that they were busier, or that they took their role more seriously, far from it. They were engrossed in conversation about their own concerns - laughing, joking, and pl... The Wife of a Schizophrenic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3363812 Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:32:00 +0100 3363812 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3354247&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F03%2F11%2Fthe-heart-of-the-matter-patient-and-public-engagement-in-todays-nhs%2F Title: The heart of the matter: patient and public engagement in today’s NHS The Skinny: NHS Confederation report detailing how Patient and public engagement (PPE) must become integral to the operation of every NHS organisation. The heart of the matter: patient and public engagement in today’s NHS asks questions about the future of PPE in an ever-changing NHS and sets out: what good engagement looks like the legal framework for PPE the importance of having a culture of engagement where the NHS has got to on PPE how Local Involvement Networks (LINKs), membership schemes and working with local government contribute to PPE. Publisher: NHS Confederation Size of Publication: 20p Published: 22/02/2010 Filed under: Carers, Choice, Communication, Culture, Grey Literature, Hospitals, ... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3354247 Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:34:44 +0100 3354247 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3350250&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2010%2F03%2F09%2Fshock-me-tube-me-line-me-an-er-doc-reassesses-dnrs%2F In “Shock Me, Tube Me, Line Me,” a Narrative Matters essay in the February 2010 issue of Health Affairs, emergency physician Boris Veysman sets forth his own version of an advance directive and challenges common perceptions about care at the end of life. An excerpted version of Veysman’s essay appears in today’s Washington Post Health and Science section, and it has provoked a vigorous conversation among commenters—just as it did among Health Affairs readers. Veysman recounts the exhilaration he feels after successfully resuscitating an elderly patient, followed by shock when the family appears and informs him that his patient is in the end stages of cancer and has standing “Do Not Resuscitate” and “Do Not Intubate” orders. “I get the story—several failed rounds of ch... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3350250 Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:13:26 +0100 3350250 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3290952&cid=t_105890_133_f&fid=35084&url=http%3A%2F%2Fballastexistenz.autistics.org%2F%3Fp%3D602 I want to start out by explaining what this is, and what this is not. Blog carnivals tend to bring in unfamiliar readers. People tend to misunderstand topics like this one. So here goes: I write about things like this mostly because nobody was talking about these things when they happened to me. I want people who are going through similar things, and those around them, to have a frame of reference I never had. I also want to end the taboo that says only bad disabled people talk about our bodies and the things that have happened to us. The one that says all such discussions must be a plea for pity or attention. So if you get only one thing straight, it’s that this isn’t about getting sympathy, it’s about describing a piece of reality. This is for the disability blog carni... Ballastexistenz blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3290952 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 07:39:22 +0100 3290952 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3271206&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=35818&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FRecoveryIsSexycom%2F%7E3%2FxMdAHd1SWZw%2F Moving into experience a new dawn The terms “spiritual experience” and “spiritual awakening” are used many times in our book which, upon careful reading, show that the personality change sufficient to bring about recovery from alcoholism has manifested itself among us in many different forms. Yet it is true that our first printing gave many readers the impression that these personality changes, or religious experiences, must be in the nature of sudden and spectacular upheavals.    Happily for everyone, this conclusion is erroneous. In the first few chapters a number of sudden revolutionary changes are described.    Though it was not our intention to create such an impression, many alcoholics have nevertheless concluded that in order to recover they must acquir... Recovery Is Sexy.com blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3271206 Fri, 12 Feb 2010 20:38:55 +0100 3271206 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3246853&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F02%2F06%2Fdoes-the-experience-of-staff-working-in-the-nhs-link-to-the-patient-experience-of-care-an-analysis-of-links-between-the-2007-acute-trust-inpatient-and-nhs-staff-surveys%2F Title: Does the experience of staff working in the NHS link to the patient experience of care?: An analysis of links between the 2007 acute trust inpatient and NHS staff surveys Skinny: Links the results of the 2007 acute inpatient and staff surveys using a series of statistical analyses intended to highlight the most important relationships between the two surveys. Key findings are: The more staff who have had health and safety training, the better the patient perceptions of greater conscientiousness and availability of staff. Organisations where staff have clear, planned goals are more likely to have patients who report positive experiences of communication; in particular around patients being involved in decisions on care/treatment, family members being able to speak to doctors, the me... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3246853 Sat, 06 Feb 2010 11:34:56 +0100 3246853 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3220489&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F01%2Fwhy-apple-ipad-will-not-revolutionize.html The announcement of the Apple iPad has been accompanied by the usual irrationally exuberant, buzzword-laden statements and bellicose grandiosity from the IT punditry about how it will "revolutionize" or "transform" medicine.However, this will not occur anytime soon, for in medicine, the device may help solve a portability and visibility problem (compared to PDA's), but it will not solve this problem: the mission hostile user experience.The solution to that problem will require significant human magic.-- SS (Source: Health Care Renewal) Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3220489 Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:42:00 +0100 3220489 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3201811&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F22%2Fdoes-your-medical-practice-have-a-sales-force%2F Many businesses have the benefit of having a sales force. The sales force of course is out there, day in and day out, selling products or services, promoting the business, addressing issues, inviting, schmoozing and doing all the things sales people do. In theory, the more there out there pounding the payment, the more business they’ll get. In our private practice, we get lots of visits from sales people. And the sales rep we see the most frequently and the ones that establish better relationships with us tend to benefit the most from our business. But, a medical practice can’t really hire a sales force to increase business; right? Private medical practices can’t really hire sales people, divide the practice’s footprint into territories and expect them to go door to door promoting ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3201811 Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:00:55 +0100 3201811 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3180328&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F16%2Fwhat-does-the-lost-baggage-counter-and-your-medical-office-have-in-common%2F I think businesses like restaurants or retail stores have a huge advantage when trying to make a customer feel comfortable at their location or making customers’ experience exceptional. And the reason for their advantage is because customers actually want to be there. We go to a restaurant because we’ve heard it was good, we’re hungry, it’s convenient, cheap, offers great service or hundreds of other reasons. Bottom line, we decided to go there, thus our expectations are different than if we were there because we had to go. Same goes for retail stores. We visit a store because we are looking for something to buy. And for the most part, our expectations have already been set. For example, when we go to buy clothes at Target, we have different expectations as when we go buy something... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3180328 Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:05:31 +0100 3180328 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3163726&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2010%2F01%2F12%2Finternational-journal-of-clinical-leadership-2008-vol-16-no-2%2F content page Fade Fave: Developing patient improvement programmes in an NHS trust Fade Skinny: The challenges to providers to develop high-quality services for their customers have never been greater. In the UK, the Darzi Review has focused the attention of clinicians and managers on the need to sustain and improve quality. This paper examines these challenges and considers how the Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust anticipated and responded to them by creating an innovative patient improvement framework linking patient experience, outcomes and safety with its corporate strategies. The paper then reflects on the shared learning from and results of this approach for clinicians and managers. (NHS Athens is required to access this article online) Posted in Athens Password, Current Aw... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3163726 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:32:32 +0100 3163726 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3126570&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F12%2Fit-seems-common-wisdom-in-u.html It seems common wisdom in the U.S. that the "Europeans are way ahead of us" in computerized medicine.Perhaps the common wisdom is not so wise. This from Finland:HELSINGIN SANOMATINTERNATIONAL EDITION - HOMEClumsy computer systems consume doctors’ timeWhen Arto Virtanen, a doctor at a public health clinic, wants to access the information of a young patient, 12 windows of different sizes open up on different parts of his computer screen. Virtanen has to deal with each of them every time a patient visits him for routine postnatal care.“It used to be that a municipal doctor would see six or seven patients in an hour, when documentation was not at its present level”, Virtanen says. “Then there came more paperwork, and four patients were seen in an hour. Now if a doctor wants to read all... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3126570 Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:45:00 +0100 3126570 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3096797&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F12%2F17%2Fthe-operating-framework-for-201011-for-the-nhs-in-england%2F Title: The operating framework for 2010/11 for the NHS in England Skinny: Letter introducing the NHS operating framework 2010/11 to Chief Executives in the NHS. Publisher: DH Size of Publication: 3p. Published: 16/12/2009 Posted in Acute Services, Decision Making, Financial Management, Governance, Grey Literature, Management, NHS, Primary Care, Quality Tagged: Access, Deprivation, Equity, Grey Literature, H1N1, Hospitals, Inequalities, Infection Control, Influenza, NHS, Pandemic, Patient Experience, Poverty, Primary Care, Priorities, Quality, Staff Satisfaction, Stakeholder Engagement, Waiting Times (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3096797 Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:00:21 +0100 3096797 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3059708&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2009%2F12%2F04%2Fa-mothers-search-for-h1n1-vaccinations%2F I became a mother obsessed.       It started in June, just days before my daughters, ages 12 and 10, were due to leave for summer camp. It waned a bit upon their return home, but returned full force with the start of the school year. My name is Rita, and I was obsessed with H1N1. I cover health for USA TODAY, and my colleagues and I have been writing about the pandemic since before it was a pandemic. Unlike most of the health topics I write about, this one got personal. The son of a World Bank employee, who reportedly contracted swine flu in Mexico during the earliest days, attended my older daughter’s suburban Washington, D.C., middle school. We parents held our breath, fearful that even a single case of the flu would shut down the school for a week or two. Thankfully, though,... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3059708 Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:38:17 +0100 3059708 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3029948&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F25%2Fthe-pursuit-of-excellence%2F Photo Credit: Antre's This past week my wife and I had chance to experience a little getaway. This trip was our first getaway in 14 years without the kids. Can you believe that? We couldn’t. Anyway, I wanted to tell you about a hotel we stayed at called, Excellence. I thought the name was pretty gutsy. Calling your hotel “excellence” is setting the highest bar there is; Don’t you think? For the visitor, the expectation is that I’m going to have… well, an excellent time. And if one doesn’t have anything but an excellent time, then the hotel will have failed to deliver. To our amazement, they delivered on their name. It was truly an “excellent” experience. In fact, too many for one post. Fundamentally, the hotel understands that consumers have choices, and ... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3029948 Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:42:50 +0100 3029948 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3018951&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F11%2F23%2Fbmj-2009-vol-339-no-7729%2F content page Fade Fave: Most patients rely on their own experiences to choose hospitals, shows survey Fade Skinny: More than half the patients (56%) who recalled being offered a choice of hospitals to be referred to by their GP say that they based their decision on their own experience rather than quality measures such as those published on the NHS Choices website, a survey has found. (NHS Athens is required to access this article online) Posted in Athens Password, Current Awareness, E-Journals, Journals Tagged: Athens Password, Current Awareness, E-Journals, Hospitals, Patient Choice, Patient Experience (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3018951 Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:16:32 +0100 3018951 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2984866&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=38950&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shockmd.com%2F2009%2F11%2F12%2Fblogging-about-ect-hands-on-experience%2F The best information in health care is from patients who have been there. Those who underwent treatment, suffer from a certain illness. It’s the kind of hands on experience physicians can’t deliver. On this blog I have collected some examples of these “hands on experiences”. Some recent posts were written about ECT by them with hands on experience. Aqua on Vicarious Therapy wrote a post on ECT and media portrayals of depression treatment options. She is irritated by the negative portrayal of ECT in the media. It irritates me, (and does not help me explain potential treatments to concerned family members), when the media, either by negative portrayal or by leaving positive and informative information about ECT out of stories about depression treatments, subtly dismi... Dr Shock MD PhD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2984866 Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:08:21 +0100 2984866 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2963065&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2009%2F11%2F04%2Fnarrative-matters-essays-honored%2F Narrative Matters, the personal essay section of Health Affairs, publishes firsthand stories that explore the personal, ethical, and moral issues of delivering or receiving health care—and that carry a health policy message within them.  The essays are popular with the journal’s readers (many say that Narrative Matters is what they turn to first), and they receive a tremendous number of hits and downloads on the Health Affairs Web site.  Happily, during the past several years, an increasing number of media outlets and readers have discovered this compelling, affecting, literary nonfiction being published in Health Affairs. Now, in fall 2009, Narrative Matters authors and essays from 2008 have been honored in two national “best-of” publications.  The Best American Medical Writing... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2963065 Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:44:26 +0100 2963065 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2939263&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2F28%2Fa-narrative-on-narrative-matters%2F Narrative Matters recently brought together 80 writers, journalists, and academics to celebrate the Tenth Anniversary of Narrative Matters.  There was much to celebrate: over 150 Narratives published in Health Affairs that covered a spectrum of human stories set in the increasingly institutionalized health care system.  We came to celebrate the power of stories and storytelling in the human drama of health.  A diverse group of men and women from a variety of backgrounds attended; the common denominator was a dedication to the health narrative. It was a needed function.  There is an often-unarticulated human side to every profession, but the healing professions have a special need for articulate writing.  No other profession is as complex; no other profession finds us as needy and vu... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2939263 Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:14:20 +0100 2939263 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2924901&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F10%2F25%2Fdoes-your-paycheck-depend-on-your-performance%2F So here is something to think about… Photo credit: Publicinsomniac What if your pay checks were not guaranteed, but instead you got paid solely on your performance? How would you treat patients knowing that the way you took care of them, the way you responded to them, the way you acknowledged them, stems your paycheck? I suspect things would be different. You may still get annoyed with parents, but you’d keep that smile on your face the entire time. Would you not? If you think about it, we are not that different from someone that solely earns money based on their performances. As a staff member you may get a salary or get paid by the hour, but the “practice” does not get a guaranteed paycheck every month. We only get paid when we provide a service/perform. If there is no o... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2924901 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:57:46 +0100 2924901 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2920467&cid=t_105890_137_f&fid=35426&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FTheAlzheimersReadingRoom%2F%7E3%2FiBXPf_IvlKc%2Fmy-firsthand-experience-with-alzheimers.html Many times she would be frustrated and angry and say “Parts of my life are missing!” In the beginning she knew that she was losing her memory. She was depressed and felt like her control over her life was slipping away from her. Diane Keefe Aging Plus My mother had Alzheimer’s. It began with little strokes called TIAs where she would have numbness and tingling down one side of her body. She didn’t realize what they were. She was in the generation where women were not assertive so she did not tell the doctor’s assistant why she was trying to get in to see him. By then it was too late and she continued to have these TIAs. Subscribe to The Alzheimer's Reading Room--via Email Often dementia follows after a vascular event. If Alzheimer’s symptoms were present when the vascular even... Alzheimer's Reading Room, The blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2920467 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:29:57 +0100 2920467 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2899019&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=38950&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shockmd.com%2F2009%2F10%2F16%2Fgel-health-conference-about-the-patient-experience-in-health-care%2F Bridget Duffy at Gel 2008 from Gel Conference on Vimeo. Creating a good patient experience is the focus and mandate of the Chief Experience Officer at the Cleveland Clinic, one of the world’s top-rated medical facilities. In this talk, Bridget Duffy shows the theory and practice of patient-centered care, including an on-stage demo of an innovative patient gown. Gel Health will explore the patient experience in a variety of organizations and companies. They’re having a conference Gel Health. It will be held on Thursday and Friday, October 22 and 23, 2009 at Scandinavia House, Park Avenue and 38th Street in Manhattan, New York. Check out their website for further information Related posts:E-Mental Health Summit and Health 2.0 Conference The organizers of REshape 2009, the secon... Dr Shock MD PhD blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2899019 Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:58:01 +0100 2899019 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2814366&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F21%2Fthe-case-for-change-why-england-needs-a-new-care-and-support-system-engagement-findings-2009%2F Title: The case for change: why England needs a new care and support system – engagement findings Skinny: Summarises public and stakeholder responses to the Government’s ‘Care, Support, Independence’ engagement process about the future of adult care and support in England, which took place between May and November 2008. Includes debate on the question: what should be the balance of responsibility between the family, the individual and the Government? Report is divided into following chapters: Executive summary Stakeholder engagement events User-led organisations – stakeholder top-up engagement report Written responses from stakeholders Toolkit responses Citizens’ events Inclusivity research Website, email and letter responses Annexes Publisher: DOH Size of ... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2814366 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:54:06 +0100 2814366 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2879588&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F09%2F17%2Fwhen-good-intentions-create-inconveniences%2F At the restaurant Yesterday, as I was waiting for my wife and kids to return to our table at the restaurant, I noticed a couple being ushered to their table. The host politely waited for the couple to sit down and immediately after sitting, he handed the menus to the couple. The menus were handed over opened (like an open book) to the couple as a courtesy. After taking a glance at the menu, both of them closed them, put them down on the table and went for their reading glasses. I observed other people sitting down at their table and similar behaviors occurred. The host waited for the person to sit down (as if saying, hurry up, I need to hand you these things) so he could hand over the open menus. But the majority of the patrons would only take a glance before closing them and setting them... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2879588 Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:47:02 +0100 2879588 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2778742&cid=t_105890_180_f&fid=38610&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.productivity501.com%2Fthat-looks-easy%2F5239%2F This weekend, my brother-in-law graciously offered to tile our bathroom.  He does this for a living, so he is naturally very good at it. I, on the other hand, do not, and am naturally very, very bad at it. What struck me as amazing is how easily he came in, looked at the bathroom, came up with an optimal placement and started on it.  It looked pretty easy.  Later, he was marking the tiles that needed to be cut and handing them to me to cut on the tile saw.  He would hold the tile one way, make a mark, hold it another, make a mark and then use a square to draw a line showing me where to cut it.  Simple.  Not really. I tried my hand at marking the tile while he made some complicated cuts.  It took me nearly three minutes just to figure out how to get the square aligned with the tile ... Productivity501 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2778742 Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:00:52 +0100 2778742 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2774593&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2009%2F09%2F07%2Ffact-or-fiction-advance-care-planning-in-health-reform%2F Patients with serious or advanced illnesses would be given more control over their care by language in health reform legislation passed by three House committees that would pay physicians, nurse practitioners, and other providers for counseling Medicare beneficiaries about advance planning for future care decisions. That was the unanimous opinion expressed by three respected geriatricians at a August 20 conference intended to clarify several issues at the heart of the current health reform debate. The conference, Fact vs. Fiction: Key Issues in Health Reform, was sponsored by Health Affairs. The participants in the panel dealing with end of life issues were Christine Cassel, MD, President, American Board of Internal Medicine; Diane E. Meier, MD, Director, Center to Advance Palliative Care,... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2774593 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 20:12:05 +0100 2774593 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2772739&cid=t_105890_180_f&fid=38610&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.productivity501.com%2Fexperienced-based-education%2F62%2F Everyone is familiar with traditional education.  You sit in a class and a teacher teaches.  This is an important part of development. But at some point, every individual has to take charge of their own education.  To do this, one must look at the root of learning.  What is it that makes some experiences add tremendous value to our lives while other experiences do not? On a very basic level, experiences that are unfamiliar usually add more value than experiences that are familiar.  This is because unfamiliar experiences require much more of our attention, which means we are in a better state to learn something new.  Obviously, this concept must be used in moderation.  Someone who never experiences the same thing twice will never have a chance to benefit from anything learned, but i... Productivity501 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2772739 Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:00:41 +0100 2772739 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2730024&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F25%2Fthe-point-of-care-measures-of-patients-experience-in-hospital-purpose-methods-and-uses%2F Title: The Point of Care: Measures of patients’ experience in hospital: purpose, methods and uses The Skinny: Provides a brief guide to these to help trust boards and other interested parties decide which measurement and feedback tools are appropriate for their requirements. Publisher: The King’s Fund Size of Publication: 32p Published: 03/08/2009 Posted in Acute Services, Grey Literature, Hospitals, NHS, Quality, Standards Tagged: Grey Literature, Hospitals, Management, NHS, Patient Experience, Quality (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2730024 Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:22:57 +0100 2730024 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2715934&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2009%2F08%2F19%2Fhealth-affairs-briefing-to-be-covered-on-twitter%2F Tomorrow’s Health Affairs briefing, “Fact Versus Fiction: Key Issues In Health Reform,” will be covered live on Twitter. Posts from Health Affairs deputy editor Sarah Dine will appear in real time on the Twitter “channel” #healthreform with important points and content from the event. You can follow the discussion on Twitter by searching on “#healthreform.” If you have a Twitter account, you can join the discussion and post to the channel by appending “#healthreform” to your messages. If you don’t have a Twitter account, you can register for one here. Copyright © 2009 Health Affairs Blog. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. All material published on Health Affairs blog, excluding links, is covered under a Creative Commons Attri... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2715934 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:34:48 +0100 2715934 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2705119&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2009%2F08%2F16%2Fhealth-affairs-briefing-on-key-issues-in-health-reform-fact-versus-fiction%2F Reforming the way health care is paid for and delivered in the United States is serious business. It deserves an equally serious discussion rising above partisanship and hot air.  Join Health Affairs, the nation’s leading health policy journal, for a special conference on Key Issues in Health Reform: Fact vs. Fiction. WHEN: Thursday August 20, 2009 – 8:30 am to 12:00 pm WHERE: National Press Club, Washington DC TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED: What exactly is the U.S. government’s role in health care and how might it change under health reform? What are the implications of slowing the rate of growth in Medicare spending and what would the impact be on beneficiaries? End of Life Health Care: How the issues really look to the people and providers who live it. SPEAKERS TO INCLUDE:  Welcomin... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2705119 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:47:58 +0100 2705119 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2879593&cid=t_105890_123_f&fid=39036&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpediatricinc.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F13%2Fsubtle-lessons-from-disney%2F I mentioned in my previous post that the family and I visited Disney World a few weeks ago. I love Disney because they know how to create a user experience.  I don’t think anybody does it better. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of things businesses can learn from Disney. They are truly a remarkable company. During this trip, I noticed a few subtle things that I think as a practice manager I can learn from. 1 – Name tags Photo credit: Joe Penniston At Disney, everybody wears a name tag. And the name tag also shows where the person is from. It doesn’t matter if you are the manager or the cleaning person, everybody has a name tag. The name tag is important for several reasons. For starters, I think Disney staff becomes more personable. When you know someone’s name, the int... Pediatric Inc blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2879593 Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:11:27 +0100 2879593 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2695316&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F12%2Fbritish-journal-of-general-practice-2009-vol-59-no-565%2F Title: Front desk talk: discourse analysis of receptionist-patient interaction Skinny: An analysis of communication styles of GP receptionists when dealing with patients. Addresses the important role of GP receptionists in the delivery of primary care. The background to the study is based on evidence that GP receptionists are often perceived as impersonal, insensitive or officious. Ethnographically situated discourse analysis of audio recordings of 283 encounters between 16 receptionists and 283 patients. Concentrates on 3 main communication styles used by the receptionists: task centred, conventionally polite, and rapport building. (Print subscription help at Fade Library) Posted in Communication, General Practice, Journals Tagged: Communication, Ethnography, GP Practices, GP Receptionis... Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2695316 Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:16:16 +0100 2695316 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2663909&cid=t_105890_86_f&fid=36669&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffadelibrary.wordpress.com%2F2009%2F08%2F03%2Fnursing-times-2009-vol-105-no-29%2F Fade Fave: Exploring how to measure patients’ experience of care in hospital to improve services. Fade Skinny: The King’s Fund’ Point of Care programme held a workshop to examine various approaches to measuring patients’ experience and to help staff deliver the quality of care they would want for themselves and their own families. A print copy of this article is available from Fade Library. Posted in Accidents, Current Awareness, Journals Tagged: Acute Services, Patient Experience, Patient Satisfaction, Quality, Service Improvement (Source: Fade Library) Fade Library blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2663909 Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:47:04 +0100 2663909 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2469918&cid=t_105890_140_f&fid=35463&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F06%2Fdread.html Hi. Yes, it's me, the sporadic blogger. I just felt like posting a little update today, partly to get things off my chest I suppose.Things have been, well, y'know, the same. Or worse. I'm not sure. Better actually, because I have been avoiding life like never before. Less anxiety because I haven't been shopping or done any cooking or cleaning or... anything. The cupboards are empty. Mr Man is starving. We've just been living off take-aways. But the counsellor said it's ok to avoid things that cause me anxiety, so that's ok. (?)Well, it did help with my anxiety for a while, but now I realise we have things to pay and I have wasted all our money, so long term it's kind of made things worse. Now I have to go back to managing the anxiety of shopping and cooking with the added anxiety of worryi... The Wife of a Schizophrenic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2469918 Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:42:00 +0100 2469918 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2389729&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F05%2Fehrs-and-scarcity-of-public-reviews-of.html I recently downloaded the public beta (incomplete trial version) of Apple's new web browser Safari 4.I like its user experience and features, presenting a main page "posterboard" of most visited or user-selected sites, a searchable, flip-panel history of visited pages (using the Macintosh OS X Spotlight and Cover Flow paradigms), top located tabs, and other useful features. (Note: I use both Macs and PC's, and hold no financial stakes in Apple whatsoever.)What struck me was the vociferous online discussions and debates about every facet of the new browser version, down to the level of minutiae. The following review particularly struck me for its level of detail - Observations, Complaints, Quibbles, and Suggestions Regarding the Safari 4 Public Beta Released One Week Ago, Roughly in Order o... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2389729 Tue, 05 May 2009 18:09:00 +0100 2389729 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2375896&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2009%2F04%2F28%2Fhealth-affairs-mental-health-briefing%2F Last year Congress passed legislation prohibiting group health plans that provide mental health coverage from imposing stricter limits on mental health treatment than for other medical or surgical care. This marked a historical milestone for mental health care, burying the unscientific distinction between “mental” and “physical” illness. But although progress has been made in mental health care, much remains to be done. The May/June 2009 issue of Health Affairs, supported by a grant from the MacArthur Foundation, is a thematic volume on mental health care. The issue will be released at a briefing on Tuesday, May 5, at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. At the briefing: * Sherry Glied of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health will provide an overview of mental h... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2375896 Tue, 28 Apr 2009 11:34:30 +0100 2375896 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2365422&cid=t_105890_140_f&fid=35463&url=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-wife-of-a-schizophrenic.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F04%2Fquick-update.html ...because I don't have the emotional energy for anything more.I went to see my carer support worker today. She knows that I've been feeling low and anxious recently - I told her that much when I booked the appointment. She's seen me go through various stages of coping, not coping, depression and anger. She asked me what I thought the trigger was this time. I told her, it always comes down to the same thing - the way Mr Man was treated when he was in hospital back in 2002. And then I broke down and sobbed. I couldn't believe how much pent up emotion just poured out of me. Through my tears I tried to explain to her the worst week of my entire life - something which I started writing about in February but have not yet managed to complete. She recognised that I have been "coping" by suppressi... The Wife of a Schizophrenic blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2365422 Fri, 24 Apr 2009 17:59:00 +0100 2365422 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2313543&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F04%2F06%2Fnegative-anticipation-set-up-for-worry%2F Last night I was worried about a work thing that I felt less than ideally prepared for. Some parts were fine, but others worked against my weaknesses. In short, I was pretty worried. When I went in to work, it all went better than I expected. Some bumps in the road, but it was a great learning experience with good support. I knew this in my head going in, but I was still worried. And I was still somewhat worried about doing it the next time. So if my logic tells me it’s likely to be OK, why did I still get so worried? Worrying is feeling anxious about something that could or will happen in the future. The emotion usually includes fear of either something specific or of the unknown. Your heart beats faster, you might feel sweaty, and you often feel a sense of physical tension in your ... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2313543 Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:55:00 +0100 2313543 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2259903&cid=t_105890_129_f&fid=36035&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everydayhealth.com%2Fblog%2Flife-with-chronic-pain%2Fchronic-pain-is-the-great-equalizer%2F It struck me the other day how anonymous we all are while becoming very close to each other. We share our hearts and our lives yet we do not really know each other in the classic sense of the word. We haven’t met at school, at a social occasion nor were we introduced by friends. Would we become friends if we met? We are not judged persons. We are all equal here on the chronic pain blog. Many of us chat with each other via this connection on a regular basis. We are connected by our humanity, our suffering as well as many other aspects of life. We are curious to learn more about our chronic conditions and looking for answers for injuries or other areas of concern to us. We share a common love of beauty, especially in nature. I know this because many of us who share on this blog live near w... Life with Chronic Pain blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2259903 Fri, 06 Mar 2009 20:27:34 +0100 2259903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2240800&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fit-vulnerabilities-highlighted-by.html Bill Gates's company, Microsoft, touts the User Experience as the Sine Qua Non of computing. Billions of dollars have been spent tweaking every little nuance of Windows, with version 7.0 soon to appear. Apple has done likewise with Mac OS X. (The various X-windows managers for Linux, less so). I respect these efforts and use both mainstream OS's in my daily work.In HIT, however, the "user experience" as I outlined in my eight part series starting here is deemed an issue to solve once the sale is made and physicians are scrambling to avoid harming or killing patients. After all, the HIT industry is unregulated, shielded from liability based on the "learned intermediary" doctrine (a.k.a., clinicians are the bank and insurance company for IT vendors, in that they are the creative implementors... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2240800 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:28:00 +0100 2240800 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232505&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fit-vulnerabilities-highlighted-by.html Bill Gates's company, Microsoft, touts the User Experience as the Sine Qua Non of computing. Billions of dollars have been spent tweaking every little nuance of Windows, with version 7.0 soon to appear. Apple has done likewise with Mac OS X. (The various X-windows managers for Linux, less so). I respect these efforts and use both mainstream OS's in my daily work.In HIT, however, the "user experience" as I outlined in my 8-part series starting here is deemed an issue to solve once the sale is made and physicians are scrambling to avoid harming or killing patients. After all, the HIT industry is unregulated, shielded from liability based on the "learned intermediary" doctrine (a.k.a., clinicians are the bank and insurance company for IT vendors, in that they are the creative implementors of ... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232505 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 13:28:00 +0100 2232505 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2232507&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Fmalpractices-of-multitudes-mission.html More on the origin of this post's title, penned in 1836, below.(Note: Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, part 4 is here, part 5 is here, part 6 is here, and part 7 is here.)This post is part 8, and the finale, of a series on the stunningly poor human engineering of production healthcare IT from major vendors, in use today at major medical centers. These devices provide a decidedly mission hostile user experience, yet with an almost religious fervor are being touted as cybernetic miracles to cure healthcare's ills.My college is a member of the iSchool consortium, consisting of schools of information science and technology (notably, not "information technology and science").The iSchools are interested in the relationship between information, people and technology. This is charac... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2232507 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:55:00 +0100 2232507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2227164&cid=t_105890_109_f&fid=34750&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpsychcentral.com%2Fblog%2Farchives%2F2009%2F03%2F02%2Fmotherhood-and-depression%2F Let me first say that I’m glad that many many mothers around the world can go about the challenging and rewarding job of parenting without experiencing mental illness. Clearly the majority of mothers can weather the storms without having their boat completely capsize. But the reality is that a modest percentage of mothers do experience depression, excessive anxiety, and other mental illnesses. As a mother who’s had postpartum depression and premenstrual dysphoric disorder, I don’t have a grudge against the moms who have stayed healthy. Not that they would have all sunshine and lollipops every day as a mom either. Motherhood can be tough no matter how resilient you are. In fact, I thought I was being exposed to how difficult it really was — the truth behind the faca... World of Psychology blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2227164 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 18:50:06 +0100 2227164 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2227516&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=36047&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FADozenSteps%2F%7E3%2FCj75FOQRqvY%2F Anger is another topic that has received little play in meetings in this locale in recent memory. A lot can be written and said about anger by alcoholics. I am in full agreement with Mel B.; “What really is behind a temper outburst? A temper explosion is not something that just blows up out of nowhere, a storm without a cause. It is actually a surface manifestation of inner hostility, of the emotions we often call ‘resentments’ in AA. I’ve learned that I am subject to moments of rage only if I allow myself to wallow around in a swamp of resentful, self-pitying thoughts. It is easy to become outwardly angry, for example, when I have spent several hours thinking about past mistakes, or going over how badly someone treated me in the past. I can also become angry over r... A Dozen Steps blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2227516 Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:07:41 +0100 2227516 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2227151&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F03%2Feconomists-advice-on-healthcare.html In a Feb. 28, 2009 New York Times article entitled "How to Make Electronic Medical Records a Reality", we get advice from the same profession in part responsible for the worst economic downturn since 1982 and perhaps 1929:... It is scarcely surprising, then, that only about 17 percent of the nation’s physicians are using computerized patient records [to various extents, 13% of that 17% only having basic functionality - ed.], according to a government-sponsored survey published last year in The New England Journal of Medicine."This is really not a technology problem,” observed Erik Brynjolfsson (bio), an economist at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It’s a matter of incentives and market failure.”No, Prof. Brynjolffson, it is a matter o... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2227151 Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:12:00 +0100 2227151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2227152&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F02%2Fit-makes-healthcare-easier-is-this.html This post is part 6 of a series on the stunningly poor human engineering of production healthcare IT from major vendors, in use today at major medical centers. These devices provide a decidedly mission hostile user experience, yet with an almost religious fervor are being touted as cybernetic miracles to cure healthcare's ills.(Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, part 4 is here, part 5 is here, and part 7 is here.)During the Sunday morning talk show "Roundtable" this morning, I saw an IBM ad touting the fact that they'd surpassed the petaflop mark (built computers that can perform one thousand trillion floating point calculations per second).They touted how such computers will enable weather prediction, medical advances, solutions to social problems, and other cybernetic miracl... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2227152 Sun, 01 Mar 2009 01:42:00 +0100 2227152 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222895&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=35747&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhealthaffairs.org%2Fblog%2F2009%2F02%2F26%2Fwhen-kids-fall-through-the-cracks%2F How does a health care system learn about neglected and abused children—the ones who’ve fallen through the cracks—so they can be helped? That was the story and exploration in a Narrative Matters essay by Janette Kurie titled “Where’s David?” Kurie recently read an excerpt from her essay on NPR’s “Morning Edition.” In it she tells a tale of pediatric vigilance when a young boy’s chart is discovered in a pile of “no-shows,” records of children who’ve missed their scheduled doctor’s appointments. “What caught our eyes,” she writes, “was the number of appointments this boy had missed. And his growth chart. Instead of curving upward to show a height and weight increase, it swerved south. It took protective services to physically bring him in.” Within ... Health Affairs Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222895 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 22:17:53 +0100 2222895 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2222465&cid=t_105890_87_f&fid=34765&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhcrenewal.blogspot.com%2F2009%2F02%2Fare-health-it-designers-testers-and_26.html (Note: part 1 is here, part 2 is here and part 3 is here.)Electronic health records, or electronic death records?In this fourth installment of a series whose subtitle could well be "hospitals are paying tens of millions of dollars to healthcare IT (HIT) companies for clinical IT designed as if by rank amateurs, while shortchanging the poor and uninsured", we see yet more screens that create a mission hostile user experience to physicians, nurses and other clinicians trying to take care of patients.These "user experiences from hell" are causing clinician cognitive overload, distracting and tiring them, and due to violations of fundamental good practices in information display, actually promoting error.Perhaps part of the problem is the contractual lack of vendor accountability for bad patie... Health Care Renewal blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2222465 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 18:46:00 +0100 2222465 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2116027&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=36047&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FADozenSteps%2F%7E3%2FT282z3n0UL8%2F God, keep me from thinking I must share in every meeting, no matter the topic. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details and give me wings to get to the point. Remind me to guard confidences and to keep still when I feel it is necessary to speak up for someone’s own good. Release me from the need to straighten out everybody else’s thinking and program. God, I ask for the grace to listen to newcomers. Please help me to remember the patience with which others listened to me when I was new. Please seal my lips to giving advice, and help me to remember to share only my experience, strength, and hope. Remind me that my purpose is to fit myself to be of maximum service to You and to the people around me. Help me to remain teachable. Teach me (again) the lesson that, occa... A Dozen Steps blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2116027 Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:23:48 +0100 2116027 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074616&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=36047&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FADozenSteps%2F%7E3%2Fz4zmH7OSphI%2F We sit in meetings, we offer others our experience, strength and hope, we share the stories of our lives. Why? I think the last paragraph of the preface of the Fourth Edition says it well; “All changes made over the years in the Big Book (A.A. members’ fond nickname for this volume) have had the same purpose: to represent the current membership of Alcoholics Anonymous more accurately, and thereby to reach more alcoholics. If you have a drinking problem, we hope that you may pause in reading one of the forty-two personal stories and think: “Yes, that happened to me”; or, more important, “Yes, I’ve felt like that”; or, most important, “Yes, I believe this program can work for me too.” We’ll be waiting for you… Share This (Sour... A Dozen Steps blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074616 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 04:14:01 +0100 2074616 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2074617&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=36047&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FADozenSteps%2F%7E3%2FLP3JfAnRt4I%2F Earthlings will not be able to understand this… From Chap. 11 “A Vision For You” “For most normal folks, drinking means conviviality, companionship and colorful imagination. It means release from care, boredom and worry. It is joyous intimacy with friends and a feeling that life is good. But not so with us in those last days of heavy drinking. The old pleasures were gone. They were but memories. Never could we recapture the past. There was an insistent yearning to enjoy life as we once did and a heartbreaking obsession that some new miracle of control would enable us to do it. There was always one more attempt - and one more failure.” I might add - ad infinitum… the failures seemed to be neverending themselves. I’d like to suggest that if your drin... A Dozen Steps blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2074617 Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:17:51 +0100 2074617 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2065454&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=36047&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FADozenSteps%2F%7E3%2F4eZZjMQ5j8M%2F This really hasn’t changed except for the physical location, which is now on my hip! 9) “Keep that phone running hot. Other alkies are feeling as restless as you during the festive season. They will appreciate a ‘how are you doing?’ call just as much as you will appreciate talking to them.” Please, make sure you put them on silent mode or vibrate during meetings, okay? But keep your phone charged at all times for the next week or so! Funny - I never thought I’d be hooked up to the world 24/7 yet I am today. And it can be irritating especially when you self-centered alkies want to talk at the same time my boss wants some work out of me :) but it remains my lifeline. So I make sure it is charged every day when I leave home. How many of you remember when we... A Dozen Steps blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2065454 Wed, 24 Dec 2008 13:04:51 +0100 2065454 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2061400&cid=t_105890_134_f&fid=36049&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FDiabetesNotes%2F%7E3%2FGR-kWsS5GvM%2F var iamInit = function() {try{initIamServingHandler(420,633,370518,"http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Css/css2.css")}catch(ex){}}() Since we’re coming up on the holiday season, I thought I’d remind all my fellow diabetics out there to be extra diligent about checking your blood sugar. If you’re anything like me, stress greatly affects your blood sugar. I was reminded about that this past weekend. We had some sad family news and then I had the added stress of trying to bake, finish Christmas cards, and deal with an extra work project. In trying to “fit it all in” I found my blood sugars somewhat up and down, despite eating and working out the same. My husband (smart guy that he is) suggested I take a rest. Ease up a bit. Change my attitude about &#8... Diabetes Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2061400 Tue, 23 Dec 2008 03:30:54 +0100 2061400 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2061272&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=36047&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FADozenSteps%2F%7E3%2FPkEFDgCQJSo%2F Pay Attention… 8) If you do attend a drinking occasion, watch your drink. People who do not understand alcoholism may think it is “funny” to put something in your drink. Hold onto it or keep it where you can see it. After a few years of practice, I have finally discovered that I can actually survive for long periods at a party without having a drink of any sort in my hand! These days, I get a drink if I am thirsty, drink it, and put the glass down. I do not have to wander round holding the damn glass all night these days! Get your own. Share This (Source: A Dozen Steps) A Dozen Steps blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2061272 Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:11:08 +0100 2061272 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2053016&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=36047&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FADozenSteps%2F%7E3%2FzdpAJvkZi5s%2F Don’t forget - your life depends on it… 7) You may need more meetings in the festive season than you ordinarily do to remain on an even keel. I certainly do. Plan this ahead, particularly if you are traveling to somewhere you do not ordinarily attend meetings. Know ahead of time where the meetings are, have a detailed map that shows the location of the meeting, and know how you are going to get there. Don’t bet your life on a meeting that may be closed on Christmas Day. If you are going from the city to a country town, obtain a detailed map: street signs are going to be a bit thin on the ground, and street numbers may not be there at all. Similarly, whereas the public transport is frequent and reliable in a city, you may have to make other arrangements in rural areas. Wha... A Dozen Steps blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2053016 Sat, 20 Dec 2008 03:13:06 +0100 2053016 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2053017&cid=t_105890_151_f&fid=36047&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FADozenSteps%2F%7E3%2Fua_sGFCvmFQ%2F Oh really? Would you like some kind of special recognition? Allow someone to clue you in (because obviously you don’t have a clue), you’re simply not that important! That’s right! If you noticed, as you strolled into the meeting, we’d already begun without you… so, no, we didn’t need your presence in order to start this meeting. Now that you’re here - do the newcomer a huge favor, okay? Don’t shuffle your chair around or whisper to your buddy. The readings are being read and the newcomer is trying to listen. You wouldn’t want the newcomer to miss something that might help them stay sober today on your sorry account, would you? And you want respect… Share This (Source: A Dozen Steps) A Dozen Steps blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2053017 Thu, 18 Dec 2008 22:25:03 +0100 2053017