How to Engage Your E-Patients Like a Rock Star

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Part 1 in a series on the e-patient, participatory medicine and health 2.0 There’s no question that today’s patients are savvy.  Today’s patients are e-patients. Surrounded by technology, researching health information on the Internet has never been easier.  Patients are engaging in communities and social networking sites and the exchange of information between patients has proven invaluable to some, thanks to the Health 2.0 movement. When patients visit their…

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Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Medical Correspondent, Will Join Me Live on the Next Health in 30 Radio Show (New Changes Coming Soon)

The new time for the Health in 30 radio show with Dr. Sanjay Gupta is now scheduled for exactly 6:07 pm to 6:37 pm EST! The show will be live! We’ll discuss Dr. Gupta’s new book Cheating Death which focuses on how science has made it possible for people — who 20 years ago would have been given up for dead — to defy the odds and literally cheat death.

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Hand Washing and Swine Flu H1N1 – Still Important

Barbara and Kevin’s First, “He Said, She Said” Read our tips in our next post to find out how to be an empowered health consumer! She Said – Barbara Health Information – Confusing? I think most of us feel that there is so much health information circulating the web, in print and on TV that it can often be confusing. Major news networks may have the best intention to provide solid information, but there are…

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He Said, She Said – Viewpoints from Kevin Soden, MD & Barbara Ficarra, RN

Welcome to He Said, She Said! He Said, She Said will be an ongoing posts with views from Kevin Soden, MD, MPH and Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA. Kevin and Barbara will provide their own unique insights into the health news of the day. As any man and woman who work in varying parts of the health care system and live in very different geographic and social communities, their perspectives may or may not vary…

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Medical Errors: Nurse’s Tips Can Help Prevent Medical Errors

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA This post isn’t being written to frighten you or to cause you to mistrust hospitals. It’s to make you aware that medical errors do occur, but there are steps that you can take to help prevent medical errors from happening. First, some vital information According to a recent investigation by the Hearst Corporation, a staggering 200,000 Americans will die each year from preventable medical errors and hospital infections.  This…

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