By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA TED speaker Rebecca Saxe inspired this post. “The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy.” These are heartfelt words by award-winning actress Meryl Streep. Do we all have the power of empathy? Are we hardwired to know what other people want? Is it easy to think about other people’s thoughts? Rebecca Saxe’s enlightening TEDTalk “How To Read Each Other’s Minds” asks: “Why is…
Read More...5 Buckets to Patient Engagement and the Role of HIT
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA What is patient engagement? Patient engagement is a connection between patient, caregiver and health care provider. A trusted relationship forms and mutual respect is fostered. Patients and their families are empowered and they are active in health care decisions. However, patient engagement begins before the initial interaction with health care providers. When patients and consumers recognize the need to be in charge of their health, patient engagement evolves. Patients…
Read More...Time to Eliminate Dangerous Injection Practices by Clinicians
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Thanks to Laura Landro for shining light on unsafe injections in her WSJ blog, “Unsafe Injection Practices Persist Despite Education Efforts.” Landro writes: “A new push is underway to eliminate unsafe injection practices, which remain a persistent safety problem despite years of efforts to educate clinicians about the risks of re-using needles, syringes and drug vials. In the U.S., failure to follow safe practices in delivering intravenous medications and…
Read More...A Patient’s Journey with Heart Failure
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Q & A with Mary Knudson Mary Knudson, a patient, health journalist and author, shares a glimpse into her journey with heart failure. Mary Knudson was diagnosed with heart failure in 2003. She knew something wasn’t quite right. She became very short of breath and fatigued from walking from one room to another in her home. After being diagnosed with heart failure, she was frightened. “I thought the diagnosis…
Read More...Top Stories About Patients, Doctors and Nurses
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Here are a few of the top Healthin30 posts that focus on patients, doctors and nurses. Thank you for your insightful comments and for posting them on Facebook and Twitter. The Patient, the Most Important Part of the Medical Team Are patients the most important part of the medical team? Find out what the experts think. Full Post […] Rules of Patient Engagement: How to Deeply Connect with Empathy…
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