One of the most important roles I play as a physician is the management of patient expectations. The reason it’s so important stems from the nature of my work. As a gastroenterologist to small people I work in a grey-zone. I live in the space between intestinal pathology and the complicated lives of growing children and families. And if you know anything about ... Continue Reading about How to Manage Patient Expectations
Touch | Beyond the Physical Examination
I read recently about a patient who spent 4 hours in an ER but was never experienced touch by a human. Not surprising, really. Technology is doing a lot of what we used to do with our eyes, ears and hands. For better or worse. While physicians often associate touch with the physical exam, it can facilitate more powerful things. Here are a few things the hand can ... Continue Reading about Touch | Beyond the Physical Examination
Health Data Without Wisdom is a Spreadsheet
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