When Illness Strikes – What To Do First
Any serious diagnosis thrusts patients and their families into an unfamiliar world of doctors, tests and treatment options. Here are my suggestions as you begin the journey through illness.
The Patient Navigator Blog
From advice on specific illnesses to tips on how to communicate with your specialists, there’s a wealth of knowledge on the Patient Navigator blog.
Recent Posts
Holiday Grief – Survival Tips
The holiday season – beginning with Thanksgiving and through the New Year – can be unbearably hard if you are grieving the loss of a loved one. Here are my tips to survive.
Patient Navigators – Who We Are and What We Do
Patient advocacy, or patient navigation, is gaining attention as an emerging profession, both in the media and in the popular lexicon, because it fills so many gaps in the current American health care system. This is especially true today as we continue implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which is changing the landscape for consumers in how health care is delivered and paid for in this country.
Transportation Help After Medical Services
Easter Seals Project ACTION and the American Medical Association have a new pocket guide for patient transportation options before or after a medical procedure.
Acupuncture and Chronic Pain Study
A recent meta-analysis published in online edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine has concluded that, “Acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic pain and is therefore a reasonable referral option.”
Becoming a Patient Navigator
Patient navigation and patient advocacy are dynamic and growing professions. This article explores the background and current landscape of patient navigation and advocacy.
How We Make Medical Decisions
The bewildering sensation of too much information, yet not enough knowledge to use it, is the reality for many people faced with a serious illness or condition. How do you decide what to do?
The Doctor-Patient Relationship
In all cases, physicians and patients owe each other certain basic obligations. Here is our list for a better relationship.
Virtual Colonoscopy – Is It For You?
In a new study led by a physician at the Mayo Clinic’s facility in Phoenix and published in the journal Radiology, the investigators determined that the virtual technique was just as effective for patients over age 65 as those aged 50-65.
A paradigm-shifting impact on solid-organ transplantation?
In what is hailed as a potential game changer in transplantation science, a small preliminary study suggests that donor matching and organ rejection issues can potentially be addressed by transplanting stem cells from the organ donor to the recipient.
A Different 1% of the Population
According to an analysis by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, about 1% of the privately insured population drives about 25% of overall health costs.
Important New Immunotherapy Cancer Research
The Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network (CITN), announces plans to launch their first clinical trials later this year.
Long Term Care Insurance – Getting Paid Takes Work
Why do long-term care insurance providers make it so difficult to collect the benefits for which consumers have already paid thousands of dollars?
Childhood Depression is Real
Childhood depression affects many children deeply. There are tools and resources that can help.
Hearing Loss Help Is Often Out of Reach
Approximately 17 percent (36 million) of American adults report some degree of hearing loss. Yet audiological services and hearing aids are rarely covered by insurance.
Cancer Cell Self-Cannibalism
Cancer research continues to yield exciting breakthroughs as scientists learn more about the molecular and biological activity of cancer cells. Autophagy is one example.
Health Literacy Spotlight
Only 12% of Americans have proficient health literacy skills, so the majority of adults may have difficulty completing routine health tasks like understanding discharge instructions or diabetes care. There is a strong, independent association between health literacy and health outcomes.
Pain Management – Why Doctors Don’t Get It
There are multiple problems with regard to pain management in the United States, including a puritanical history that has contempt for suffering and enormous misunderstanding about pain management and addiction.
When Lightning Strikes
I received the news last week – two more friends have been diagnosed with breast cancer. I cried. This is the fourth friend in less than two years that has been diagnosed with cancer – a diagnosis that is frightening, life-altering and potentially life-ending. This isn’t fair. Why is this happening? These are all…
When Women Should Seek a Second Opinion
Women, in particular, are sometimes reluctant to seek a second opinion. Learn how and when a second opinion can be life-saving.
Back Pain Help Comes in Many Forms
Yoga, pilates, chiropractic care and acupuncture offer natural therapies for back pain. Surgery may end up being necessary, but the patient should explore these alternative other options first.
Holiday Grieving – My Tips for Survival
Many people experience depression during the holiday season. Now imagine trying to face it when you are grieving the loss of a loved one. It is very hard. It is painful. It is unbearably sad. Here are my own tips on how to get through the holidays if you are grieving.
Defensive Medicine Costs Spelled Out
The practice of defensive medicine decreases patient access to health care, and increases costs of health care for everyone. Some patients are left in the lurch as physicians avoid the sickest patients, or those requiring higher-risk procedures, in order to reduce their exposure to malpractice suits. A 2008 study by the Massachusetts Medical Society found that 83% of its physicians practiced defensive medicine at a cost of more than $1.4 billion annually in that state alone.
Hospital Infections – Stay Safe!
Preventing hospital infections: 1) Wash hands with soap; 2) Clean patient’s skin with antiseptic; 3) put sterile drapes over entire patient; 4) Wear a sterile mask, gown, hat and gloves; 5) put a sterile dressing over the catheter site. Many hospitals fail this test.