A Visit to Suffragette City

For two days I’ve been traveling on a short road-trip with my family in Upstate New York. As far as this turning to a medical lesson, all I can say is that for the first time in my life I witnessed, first-hand, the vaguely digital, elongate and eponymous geography of the fine Finger Lakes…

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Why Physicians Shouldn’t Tweet About Their Patients Or O.R. Cases

As a patient who’s been there, under anesthesia more times than I care to remember, I can’t imagine anything much worse than knowing while I’m unconscious my doctor might be on-line or even just dictating tweets instead of concentrating on me, my arteries and veins and spine and…

Posted in Communication, Health IT, Life as a Doctor, Medical Ethics, Privacy, Social MediaTagged , , , , , 6 Comments on Why Physicians Shouldn’t Tweet About Their Patients Or O.R. Cases

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

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 […]

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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?

Living Like It’s Shark Week!

Today is the start of this year’s Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. Dialog from NBC’s 30 Rock, Season 1, Episode 4 “Jack the Writer” (2006)*: Tracy Jordan: But I want you to know something… You and me, it’s not gonna be a one-way street. Cos I don’t believe in one-way streets. Not between people, and not […]

Posted in cancer survival, from the author, Life, Life as a Doctor, Life as a Patient, Patient Autonomy, TVTagged , , , , , Leave a Comment on Living Like It’s Shark Week!

What the Dermatologist Did Right

Kudos to my newest doctor, a dermatologist whom I met yesterday for evaluation of a small, benign-appearing mole I recently noted on my right leg. What she did right: 1. She saw me promptly, at the time of my scheduled appointment. (Thank you, you seem to value my time, as I do yours.) 2. In […]

Posted in Life as a Patient, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , 1 Comment on What the Dermatologist Did Right

Suggestions to Reduce Errors in Breast Cancer Pathology

A prominent article in yesterday’s New York Times considers some troubling problems regarding inaccuracy in breast cancer diagnosis and pathology. The main point is that some women get needless, disfiguring and toxic treatments after being told they have breast cancer when, it turns out, their condition was benign. My main take is that, whenever possible, […]

Posted in Breast Cancer, Diagnosis, Oncology (cancer), Pathology, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , 1 Comment on Suggestions to Reduce Errors in Breast Cancer Pathology

Staying Healthy in Hot Summer Travel

Hiking, or even just walking, in the hot summer heat to see ancient ruins, national monuments or spectacular vistas can sap the energy of healthy people. For someone who’s got a health issue – like chronic lung disease, reduced heart function or anemia – or anyone who’s pregnant, elderly or just frail, summer travel can knock you out in the wrong sort of way….Don’t plan

Posted in cancer survival, Empowered Patient, Travel, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , 2 Comments on Staying Healthy in Hot Summer Travel

Avoiding Blood Clots During Long-Distance Travel

A few years ago my family took a trip to China. Even before we arrived, I learned something about an unfamiliar health care culture. What I observed en route was that many of the older passengers on that long flight to Beijing were getting up from their seats and stretching. Not just once, but regularly […]

Posted in Empowered Patient, Hematology (blood), Life as a Patient, TravelTagged , , , , 4 Comments on Avoiding Blood Clots During Long-Distance Travel

On Sergey’s Search (for a Cure for Parkinson’s Disease)

…This goes well beyond a new approach to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease.

This story, largely based in genomics and computational advances, reflects the power of the human mind, how the gifted son of two mathematicians who fell into a particular medical situation, can use his brains, intellectual and financial resources, and creativity, to at least try to make a difference.

Posted in Empowered Patient, Future of Medicine, Genetics, Medical News, Neurology, ScienceTagged , , , , , Leave a Comment on On Sergey’s Search (for a Cure for Parkinson’s Disease)

Mind over Matter? Don’t Kid Yourself (on Stress and BC)

I learned of a new study implicating stress in reduced breast cancer survival by Twitter. A line in my feed alerted me that CNN’s health blog, “Paging Dr. Gupta,” broke embargo on the soon-to-be-published paper in the journal Clinical Cancer Research. The story – that women who undergo a stress relief program live longer after […]

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer survival, clinical trials, Essential Lessons, Medical News, Oncology (cancer), Pseudoscience, Psychiatry, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , , , , 3 Comments on Mind over Matter? Don’t Kid Yourself (on Stress and BC)

A Tapestry, and Double-Dose of Magic (on Carole King and James Taylor, Troubadour and Breaking Addiction)

My plan for today was to write on evidence-based medicine. But that can wait, at least until the morning comes. I came upon the most wonderful recording of a concert by Carole King and James Taylor played in November, 2007 at LA’s Troubadour Club, a place I’ve never been. PBS aired the video, about an […]

Posted in Life, Life in NYC, Music, Psychiatry, ReviewsTagged , , , , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on A Tapestry, and Double-Dose of Magic (on Carole King and James Taylor, Troubadour and Breaking Addiction)

About Those Skipped Heart Test Results

Harlem Hospital Center stands just three miles or so north of my home. I know the place from the outside glancing in, as you might upon exiting from the subway station just paces from its open doors. The structure seems like one chamber of its neighborhood’s heart; within a few long blocks’ radii you’ll find rhythms generated in the Abyssinian Baptist Church; readings at the Schomburg Center and artery-clogging cuisine at the West 135th Street IHOP.

So I was saddened to hear about the missed heart studies. Or should I say unmissed? No one noticed when nearly 4,000 cardiac tests went unchecked at the Harlem center,

Posted in Cardiology, Communication, health care costs, health care delivery, Ideas, Life in NYC, Medical News, Patient Autonomy, Under the RadarTagged , , , , , , , 2 Comments on About Those Skipped Heart Test Results
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