I was pleased to be invited to submit a monthly blog for First Stop Health, which is an affordable medical advice service that allows individuals to ask a doctor any questions they have 24 hours a day, including filling a prescription. January’s topic is “Doctors’ Reactions to Healthcare Advocates.”
Kathleen Hoffman organized the the Health Communication, Health Literacy and Social Sciences tweetchat #hchlitss in October 2011. R. V. Rikard agreed to co-host the series with her, and since then she has engaged an enthusiastic following and facilitated much significant information exchange. Dr. Hoffman also blogs at Musings on Health Communications and Health Advocacy The...
The transcript is located at http://hchlitss.blogspot.com. We are planning a second “chat” in early- to mid-January.
The obesity issue is rife with misinformation and oversimplification. Being overweight is not just about gluttony. Indeed, many overweight people eat far less than their thinner counterparts. First, note that discriminating against fat people seems to be the last remaining bastion of bigotry that is socially acceptable. Regardless of its implicit acceptance, this prejudice...
A patient is offered Vicodin (an opioid) at an E.R. for a sprained ankle and level 5 pain. Proponents of the war on drugs (which isn’t winnable) contend that this is inappropriate because of lack of efficacy and the risk of addition/tolerance. As one physician stated (without citing any studies): “Narcotics have no...
Upon reading Tara Parker-Pope‘s article, “Too Much Medical Treatment,” I was moved to compare and contrast my experience at San Francisco Kaiser Medical Center for the same issue: a moderately-severe sprained ankle that occurred on a Sunday. I checked in to the Emergency Room and was immediately placed in an examining room. A nurse-practitioner...
The brave new world of cancer treatment – and prognostic information – was featured in the New York Times: “A Life-Death Predictor Adds to a Cancer’s Strain.” This is notable not only for the novel medical treatment but also for the revelation of practicing physicians’ ethics and the way in which new treatments are...
Free podcasts are available to the general public, courtesy of my professional association, the National Association of Healthcare Advocacy Consultants (NAHAC). For instance, Richard Heasley, director of San Francisco’s Conard House, presented a teleconference on May 16, 2012 entitled ”Effective Teamwork with Psychiatric Patients.” Other topics include eldercare, patient safety, Medicare, and many others. You can...
There is a Catch-22 (well, one of several) for health care consumers trying to manage medical expenses. This is especially galling if you happen to be in a so-called “consumer-directed health plan,” also known as a high-deductible plan. What’s the catch? The idea of the consumer-directed plan is to make you aware of how...
We all benefit, at least indirectly, from scientific research. Depending upon how it is conducted, we also can be harmed by it. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is not only a highly engaging biography but a study in medical ethics that raises important, thought-provoking questions.
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