By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA How important is Health IT to you and should you care? At the Microsoft Health Users Group Exchange this month at the Microsoft Corporate Campus in Redmond, WA, patient engagement was the overall theme. Whether presenters were talking about “Cloud Computing,” “Care Coordination,” or “Population Health Management,” empowering the patient was the paradigm. “At the end of the day, we’re all patients,” Bill Crounse, MD, keynote speaker and Senior…
Read More...Nutritional Supplements: Do You Really Need Them?
Guest post submitted by MD Anderson Cancer Center Aisles in grocery stores and pharmacies are stacked with vitamins, minerals, herbs or other plants that you take in pill, capsule, tablet or liquid form. And, many of us buy these supplements and take them regularly, hoping to lower our chances of getting cancer and other diseases. But do supplements really work wonders? Should you take them to help prevent cancer? Our experts say beware. “Don’t be…
Read More...Empowered Patient: Bring a Family Member or Friend with you to Your Doctor’s Appointment
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Should you bring a family member or friend with you when a patient has a doctor’s appointment? That is a question explored on a recent post on KevinMD by guest blogger, Diana E. Lee, a chronic migraine patient who blogs at Somebody Heal Me. “Most of the resources I’ve read about how to prepare for a doctor’s appointment recommend bringing a loved one with you so that person can…
Read More...Doctor-Patient Relationship: How Patients Can Help Enhance Communication
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA From Kevin Pho’s medical blog, KevinMD, a post archived from 2004, Pho talks about the struggles of communication between doctor and patient during the 15 minute office visit. Pho sites a NY Times article that explains that more than two decades ago, research shows that patients were interrupted 18 seconds into explaining their problem (on average) and less than 2 percent got to finish their explanations. Pho sites that…
Read More...Speaking Event at NY City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – Patient Empowerment
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA I’m excited to be a keynote speaker at the NY City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on October 5, 2010 in New York City. I will be speaking at the Bureau of Tuberculosis Control–2010 Tuberculosis MD Seminar. The topic of my speaking presentation is: “Patient Empowerment: Engaging Our Patients to Take Charge of Their Health.” More info coming soon. —– New York City Department of Health and Mental…
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