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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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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Are Doctors in the Minority When it Comes to Social Media? Kevin Pho, MD Explains…

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA The Health in 30® Radio Show Talks About Social Media and Medicine [display_podcast] Recently Kevin Pho, MD, a primary care physician and a nationally recognized medical commentator who publishes provocative medical commentary at KevinMD.com, joined me on the Health in 30® Radio Show. Dr. Pho shared his insights and expertise regarding social media and medicine. Are doctors behind the curve when it comes to social media? Is the medical…

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Is Big Business Responsible for the Nursing Shortage? Fred Pescatore, MD Thinks So

I sat down with Fred Pescatore, M.D., NY Times Best Selling Author and Practicing Family Physician in New York City to talk about the nursing shortage and the health care system. “The health care system doesn’t respect and protect nurses,” says Dr. Pescatore. Additionally, the whole problem with medicine, says Dr. Fred Pecatore is that, We’ve allowed big business to take over medicine, so when big business takes over medicine people don’t matter, and medicine…

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How to Avoid Chaos in the Hospital and Get the Care You Need

A Registered Nurse’s Tips to Stay Safe in a Hospital By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA A hospital can be extremely frightening and overwhelming. Hospitals generally are loud, cold, and sterile mazes of chaos. Unfortunately medical errors happen and it’s estimated that nearly 100,000 people die of medical errors each year. According to the CDC, “In American hospitals alone, healthcare-associated infections account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths each year.” As…

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