Increasingly EHR systems like Epic are automatically releasing test results to patients. This release of health data should be a good thing. But when a machine delivers data alone we fail to help patients achieve understanding of what it means. Personal health data without knowledge and wisdom is just a spreadsheet. We have to figure out how to help patients ... Continue Reading about Health Data Without Wisdom is a Spreadsheet
Keep Mama Happy
“We’ve gotta keep Mama happy” I hear this from time to time from pediatricians. The idea is that if we don’t give a mother what she’s looking for, she’ll walk. As a resident I had a preceptor who loved to pull me aside to teach me the ‘inside baseball’ of pediatrics. One day after prescribing antibiotics to a child with a runny nose, he remarked with a wink and ... Continue Reading about Keep Mama Happy
CNN, the Mayo Clinic and Healthcare’s Dialog Double Standard
The CNN Mayo Clinic hatchet job illustrates a dilemma faced by health care organizations. Specifically, the position hospitals find themselves in when wrongly accused of patient mistreatment. Those connected with the alleged mistreatment have the ability to say what they want without accountability. But health privacy law prevents hospitals from publicly defending ... Continue Reading about CNN, the Mayo Clinic and Healthcare’s Dialog Double Standard
4 Reasons OpenNotes Will Rock SXSW Interactive in 2019
If you haven’t heard, OpenNotes has a killer panel submitted for the 2019 SXSW Interactive Festival: Transparency in Healthcare, One Note At a Time. For the uninformed, OpenNotes is an international movement advocating for the availability of medical providers’ notes to patients. The team at OpenNotes has pulled together University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s ... Continue Reading about 4 Reasons OpenNotes Will Rock SXSW Interactive in 2019
How a Language Barrier Creates Opportunity
As a physician in one of the most diverse cities in the United States I often communicate with families with the help of an interpreter. Some see the language barrier as a compromise and a challenge. But it’s really an opportunity. What we fail to achieve with use of words we can bridge with non-verbal communication. Expression, touch, tone, and animation will ... Continue Reading about How a Language Barrier Creates Opportunity
Physician-Patient | A Doctor Who Was Once a Patient
Interesting essay in the New York Times today about the physician-patient. Lauren Waldron, A budding pediatric neurologist discloses elements of her journey as a survivor of early stroke. Lots of interesting elements beyond early adaption to disability. The conclusion caught me: As a doctor who was once a patient, I want to use my story to help families cope with ... Continue Reading about Physician-Patient | A Doctor Who Was Once a Patient