By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA My post on KevinMD, “Social media starts the patient dialogue with doctors and nurses” talks about the importance of gathering health information online to get the conversation started with doctors and nurses. A patient apologized to me for asking so many questions. There is no need to apologize, I said to the patient; it’s wonderful that you have so many questions concerning your health care. I mentioned to her…
Read More...Barbara Ficarra and Matthew Holt to Present The Rise of the e-Patient and Social Media
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Health and Medical Professionals I’m excited to be on the faculty again at this year’s 30th Annual Medical Communications Conference. This year I’ll be presenting two sessions. First, I’m thrilled that I’ll be speaking with Matthew Holt, founder of TheHealthCareBlog and co-founder of Health 2.0. We’ll be presenting: The Rise of the e-Patient and Implications of Social Media Health Care Content Engage and Educate the Health Consumer through Social…
Read More...The Patient, Square in the Middle of Doctors’ Blind Spot
Guest Post By Alan Greene, MD Participatory Medicine and the e-Patient Right before our eyes there’s a dark hole in what we see. Not only don’t we see some of what’s right in front of our face, but we don’t even notice the gap. Our illusion of a seamless visual world is so strong that scientists used to think that the spot where our optic nerve enters the back of each eye gave us our…
Read More...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…
Read More...Transparency is Critical for Safe Quality Patient Care
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston is determined to eliminate preventable harm to patients by increasing transparency. Documented on the BIDMC’s website, a list of hospital wide measures including infections, hand hygiene and nursing care are highlighted. Keeping track of central line infections, hand hygiene, pressure ulcers and falls, Levy is determined to eliminate preventable harm to patients. Aggressive goals have been set…
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