On Patient Empowerment and Autonomy

…I think the answer is inherent in the goal of being engaged, and that has to do with the concept of patient autonomy – what’s essentially the capacity of a person to live and make decisions according to one’s own set of knowledge, goals and values.

Autonomy in medicine, which borders on the empowerment idea, can be an aim in itself, and therefore valuable regardless of any measured outcome.

Posted in Communication, Empowered Patient, Neurology, Patient Autonomy, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Social MediaTagged , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments on On Patient Empowerment and Autonomy

Another Take On An Ordinary Day

…Live Each Day Like There’s a Lot of Them Left….What she articulated is the idea that maybe the best thing to do after cancer is to live, essentially, as you would do otherwise, except with a bit of added balance:

Posted in cancer survival, Essential Lessons, Life, Life as a Patient, Patient Autonomy, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments on Another Take On An Ordinary Day

Eye Care

…the office has expanded and become so systematized that when I go there I don’t feel like I’m visiting a doctor, the kind of professional who sincerely cares about my health. Instead I feel like a commodity, which I suppose I am.

Posted in health care delivery, Life as a Patient, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Physical ExaminationTagged , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on Eye Care

New NY State Law on Information for Women Undergoing Mastectomy

The reality is that many women, particularly poor women without newspapers or internet access in their homes, don’t know about any of this. They don’t know their insurance covers pretty much all of these options, by law. Now they will, or should as of Jan 1, 2011. Good. The other curiosity is that …

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer treatment, Communication, Medical News, Patient Autonomy, Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryTagged , , , , , , , 2 Comments on New NY State Law on Information for Women Undergoing Mastectomy

First Take On the Big C

The Big C’s plot includes at least two “atypical” and potentially complex features. First, Cathy chooses not to take chemotherapy or other treatment. This intrigues me, and may be the show’s most essential component – that she doesn’t just follow her doctor’s advice. Second, she doesn’t go ahead and inform her husband, brother or son about the condition, at least not so far…

Posted in cancer awareness, Communication, Informed Consent, Oncology (cancer), TV, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment on First Take On the Big C

The Physical Exam’s Value is Not Just Emotional

But what’s also true, in a practical and bottom-line sort of way, is that a good physical exam can help doctors figure out what’s wrong with patients. If physicians were more confident – better trained, and practiced – in their capacity to make diagnoses by physical exam, we could skip the costs and toxicity of countless x-rays, CT scans and other tests.

Posted in Diagnosis, Essential Lessons, Medical Education, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Physical ExaminationTagged , , , , , 4 Comments on The Physical Exam’s Value is Not Just Emotional

Shutting Off Nurse Jackie

Jackie is supposed to be a crackerjack nurse who has some serious problems including drug addiction. That premise might be fair enough, in a House-like way, if her life-saving skills had unique value. But they don’t: the underlying problem with this show is that Jackie has no exceptional or redeeming qualities as a nurse. Sure, she cares about some of her patients, but that’s nothing extraordinary…

Posted in Psychiatry, TV, Women's HealthTagged , , , , 2 Comments on Shutting Off Nurse Jackie

Doctors Not Using Email Like It’s 2010

There’s been a recent barrage of med-blog posts on the unhappy relationship between doctors and electronic communications. The first, a mainly reasonable rant by Dr. Wes* dated August 7, When The Doctor’s Always In, considers email in the context of unbounded pressure on physicians to avail themselves to their patients 24/7. That piece triggered at […]

Posted in Communication, Future of Medicine, Health IT, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , 6 Comments on Doctors Not Using Email Like It’s 2010

Back to Basics – But Which Ones?

A front-page story on the Humanities and Medicine Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, here in Manhattan, recently added to the discussion on what it takes to become a doctor in 2010. The school runs a special track for non-science majors who apply relatively early in their undergraduate years. Mount Sinai doesn’t require […]

Posted in Future of Medicine, Life as a Doctor, Medical Education, Public Health, ScienceTagged , , , , Leave a Comment on Back to Basics – But Which Ones?

The “Survivor” Term After Breast Cancer: Is There a Better Expression?

The question is, what’s the right, PC and emotionally-sound, sensitive but not sappy term to describe the situation of a person who’s living after breast cancer?

Some might say, who cares if you’ve had it?

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer awareness, cancer survival, Essential Lessons, language, Oncology (cancer), Psychiatry, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , 35 Comments on The “Survivor” Term After Breast Cancer: Is There a Better Expression?
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