Why I Like the (Absurd) Dancing in the OR Video

What Deb did, and I thank her for this, is offer an extreme example of patient-centered care. Among other things, she did everything possible to assure that the people caring for her perceive her as a human being who loves dancing.

Posted in Breast Cancer, Empowered Patient, Life as a Patient, Medical News, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Video, Women's HealthTagged , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment on Why I Like the (Absurd) Dancing in the OR Video

A Case for Slower Medicine

Anger is an understandable reaction to a system that dehumanizes patients, that treats bodies as containers of billable ailments and broken parts. But most doctors go about their daily work with good intention – to heal.

Posted in Books, Communication, Informed Consent, Medical Ethics, Patient Autonomy, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , , , Leave a Comment on A Case for Slower Medicine

Can Anyone Be a Patient Advocate?

Can a good doctor, or a nurse, or a physical therapist, or any other person employed by the health care system, serve as a patient advocate?

Posted in Empowered Patient, Essential Lessons, Ideas, language, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , , , , 23 Comments on Can Anyone Be a Patient Advocate?

What Do We Need Doctors For?

… if doctors are just thinking, and not being the ones to call you back, or putting in intravenous catheters, or even just sitting and taking a thorough history – they’ll know you less well. And if they spend less time with you, a patient with a serious illness, they ….

Posted in Future of Medicine, health care delivery, Ideas, Life as a Doctor, Life as a Patient, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , , , , 3 Comments on What Do We Need Doctors For?

How Much Do You Want Your Doctors To Say About Risks of Treatment?

This kind of paternalism, when a doctor assesses the risks and benefits, and spares the patient’s “knowing” seems anachronistic. But it may, still, be what many people are looking for when and if they get a serious illness. Not everyone wants a “tell me everything” kind of physician.

Posted in Breast Cancer, cancer treatment, Empowered Patient, Informed Consent, Life as a Patient, Oncology (cancer), Patient Autonomy, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , , , , , 19 Comments on How Much Do You Want Your Doctors To Say About Risks of Treatment?

Remembering a Warm-Hearted Patient

When I was a resident I worked in a general medicine clinic. One afternoon each week, I’d get more dressed than usual and split off from my inpatient team around noon to go see patients in another building, outside of the hospital. Today, I’m reminded of a man I saw there and treated for two […]

Posted in Life as a Patient, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments on Remembering a Warm-Hearted Patient

Do Adults Need Physicians to Tell Them to Exercise?

Whatever the reasons are that most doctors don’t bring up the issue, one might ask this: Why do adults need doctors to tell them about the health benefits of regular exercise? After all, it’s common knowledge –

Posted in Communication, Fitness, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Public HealthTagged , , , , , , , 1 Comment on Do Adults Need Physicians to Tell Them to Exercise?

Weight Loss Strategies – What Should Doctors Say to Patients?

Yesterday’s Times offered two distinct perspectives on weight loss. One, a detailed feature on gastric surgery by Anemona Hartocollis, details the plight of a young obese woman who opts for Lap-band surgery. In this procedure, surgeons wrap a constricting band of silicone around the stomach so that patients will feel full upon eating less food […]

Posted in Fitness, Nutrition, Patient-Doctor RelationshipTagged , , , , , , , , 1 Comment on Weight Loss Strategies – What Should Doctors Say to Patients?

Why Should Physicians Blog or Use Twitter?

Is a question I ask myself almost every day. When I started this blog, it was partly a response to what I perceived an unbalanced attack on the value of breast cancer screening by the mainstream news outlets. Why it’s continued is, mainly, that I find it liberating and, in a strange way, fun. As […]

Posted in Blogs, Communication, Life as a Doctor, Patient-Doctor Relationship, Social MediaTagged , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments on Why Should Physicians Blog or Use Twitter?

Thoughts, on Getting My Photo Taken at a Medical Appointment

A funny thing happened at my doctor’s appointment on Friday. I checked in, and after confirming that my address and insurance hadn’t changed since last year, waited for approximately 10 minutes. A worker of some sort, likely a med-tech, called me to “take my vitals.” She took my blood pressure with a cuff that made […]

Posted in Essential Lessons, Future of Medicine, health care delivery, Health IT, Life as a Patient, Patient-Doctor Relationship, PrivacyTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments on Thoughts, on Getting My Photo Taken at a Medical Appointment
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