The Medical Professionalism Blog
Tag Archives: patients
The Train Has Left the Station: But Who is On the Train?
I recently attended the Midwest Business Coalition on Healthcare’s (MBCH) Annual Meeting about the Choosing Wisely™ campaign. MBCH is a member of the consumer coalition that will disseminate Consumer Reports’ patient-friendly translations of the 45 recommendations of tests and procedures that physicians and patients should question. At the meeting, a high-level physician executive of one [...]
Questioning the Price
Costs of Care (Twitter: @CostsOfCare), where this post was originally published, is a Boston-based, non-profit organization that helps caregivers deflate medical bills and provide high value care. As part of the 2011 Costs of Care Essay Contest, more than 100 anecdotes were shared by patients and providers around the country that illustrate the role of cost-awareness [...]
Healthy as a Horse No More: My Recent Patient Experience
I knew that I would come to rue the day I wrote my post on my EKG claiming I was a healthy individual with no apparent illnesses. On November 3, I had my first surgery in 40 years – a procedure for a detached retina (vitrectomy with a scleral buckle and pneumatic retinopexy; I read [...]
Compassionate Care Requires Compassionate Systems
In the article, “An Agenda For Improving Compassionate Care: A Survey Shows About Half of Patients Say Such Care Is Missing,” published in Health Affairs (September 2011, Vol. 30 No. 9), Beth Lowen et al. make a good case for the connection between compassionate care and quality outcomes and patient experiences. The authors also conclude [...]
Less is More But Will Patients Buy It?
The September 12th issue of Modern Healthcare reports on Thomson Reuters’ study of the 100 Top Hospitals that analyzes the relationship of financial performance and quality. Like results from other studies, higher quality was associated with lower costs – the “less equals more” drum beat continues.
You Say Consumer, I Say Patient: Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off
There has been a long debate among health care policy wonks, thought leaders, patient and consumer advocates, and the public about the use of the word “consumer” versus “patient.” Similar debates have ensued about the use of “provider” when referring to physicians, hospitals and other clinicians. I recently heard an interesting exchange between a physician [...]
Experience Trumps Policy in Changing Our Health Care Beliefs
Every day in the U.S. countless experts discuss plans and policies to contain the cost of health care using words and concepts that run counter to our (the public’s) experiences with finding and using care. Most of us ignore the steady stream of proposals until one political party or the other crafts an inflammatory meme [...]
“Nothing About Me Without Me” – What Patients and Students Have To Say
At the end of July, 150 national health leaders will assemble for the annual ABIM Foundation Forum to discuss the economic sustainability of the health care system, and the respective and joint responsibilities of physicians, patients and the health care community. I reflect with a deep sense of awe and gratitude on the important participants [...]
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