PREPARED PATIENT BLOG

Patients and experts explore what it takes to find good health care and make the most of it.

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Patient Engagement: Expert Carol Alter Talks about Challenges

Carol Alter | October 31, 2011
This interview with Carol Alter is the eighth in a series of brief chats between CFAH president and founder, Jessie Gruman and experts - our CFAH William Ziff Fellows - who have devoted their careers to understanding and encouraging people's engagement in their health and health care.

Guest Blog: A Patient's Perspective on Improving Care Transitions

Donna Cryer | October 28, 2011
Two recent speaking engagements provided me the opportunity to think deeply about the discharge process, an area of healthcare delivery rampant with errors and missed opportunities to support sustained healing and health for patients.

Health Reform's First Casualty

Trudy Lieberman | October 27, 2011
The Obama administration has dealt a mighty blow to one part of the health reform law by effectively killing off the CLASS Act, which was to be a baby step in the development of a national program to pay for long-term care.

Drop-kicked into a Foreign Country

Jessie Gruman | October 26, 2011
We patients are always tourists in the world of health care. Whether we are coming to our doctor's office to rule out a strep infection, a clinic for a bi-monthly diabetes check-in, or a hospital for surgery, we don't work here.

Guest Blog: Instant Access & Old Faulty Assumptions

Rima Rudd | October 25, 2011
The current literature indicates that we in the various health disciplines provide texts that are poorly written and organized, web sites that are hard to navigate, as well as charts and graphs that are difficult for many to interpret and use. I say that we can make information truly accessible and usable by adding needed rigor to our work.

Patient Engagement: Expert Judith Hibbard Talks about Challenges

Judith Hibbard | October 24, 2011
This interview with Judy Hibbard is the seventh in a series of brief chats between CFAH president and founder, Jessie Gruman and experts - our CFAH William Ziff Fellows - who have devoted their careers to understanding and encouraging people's engagement in their health and health care.

1st Person: The ICU: A Caregiver's Perspective

First Person | October 20, 2011
Erica Kosal's husband, Jim Young, has battled complications of chronic Lyme disease since his diagnosis in 2008. In 2010, Jim's hospitalization for respiratory problems took a turn for the worse, resulting in a 3-week ICU stay.

Prepared Patient: Cutting Through ICU Confusion

Health Behavior News Service | October 20, 2011
In January 2010, after beginning treatment for chronic Lyme disease, 53-year-old Jim Young lost significant weight and struggled to breathe. Within 15 hours, his wife Erica Kosal received a call about his imminent transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU). "I can remember he was hooked up to all kind of machines. He looked so deflated.'

"That's Not What I Wanted to Hear!": Evidence-Based Medicine and Our Hard Choices

Jessie Gruman | October 19, 2011
American health care treads a fine line between trying to serve the good of the many and the interests of the individual. But no one has yet figured out a cost-effective, yet humane, way to do both.

Why Patient Care Needs To Get Personal

David L. Katz | October 19, 2011
Evidence-based medicine, in other words, is population-based medicine. The care of any individual patient is based on the experiences of patients who have come before. And while to some extent that is unavoidable, it is also a great peril.

Pink Ribbons, Mixed Emotions

Patient Perspectives | October 18, 2011
October is national Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and recently, breast cancer patients and survivors alike have shared their (sometimes disparate) thoughts and feelings about these four weeks.

Patient Engagement: Expert Shoshanna Sofaer Talks about Challenges

Shoshanna Sofaer | October 17, 2011
This interview with Shoshanna Sofaer is the sixth in a series of brief chats between CFAH president and founder, Jessie Gruman and experts - our CFAH William Ziff Fellows - who have devoted their careers to understanding and encouraging people's engagement in their health and health care.

Guest Blog: What's All That Other Stuff In My Medicine?

Scott Gavura | October 14, 2011
The perception from many consumers (based on my personal experience) seems to be that products are inferior if they contain non-drug ingredients. By this measure, drug products are problematic'

Health Reform Loopholes

Trudy Lieberman | October 13, 2011
A couple weeks ago I walked the streets of Lincoln, Nebraska, talking to men and women about whether they thought Washington was listening to their economic concerns. Jeff Melichar manages his family's Phillips 66 gas station on the city's main street, and one of his big financial problems happens to be health insurance.

Contagion: Action! Adventure! The Value of Science?

Jessie Gruman | October 12, 2011
Our country is politically polarized. The economy is teetering. Distrust of government and its employees is at an all-time high. Scientists are criticized as biased money-grubbers.

Patient Engagement: Expert Kate Lorig Talks about Challenges

Kate Lorig | October 11, 2011
This interview with Kate Lorig is the fifth in a series of brief chats between CFAH president and founder, Jessie Gruman and experts - our CFAH William Ziff Fellows - who have devoted their careers to understanding and encouraging people's engagement in their health and health care.

Benefits of End-of-Life Planning

Conversation Continues | October 7, 2011
Two new studies have found there are numerous benefits when people discuss their end-of-life preferences with their clinicians and caregivers.

Off Pitch: Simple Conversations Go Astray

Patient Perspectives | October 6, 2011
In this round-up, patient bloggers describe a mix of difficulties they experience in everyday conversations due to their illnesses.

I am Not My iPhone

Jessie Gruman | October 5, 2011
There is excitement in the air about how mobile phones are the breakthrough technology for changing health behavior. Last Saturday, I was convinced this must be true. In two short hours, I...

Guest Blog: Women with Metastatic Breast Cancer Clamor for a Different Awareness Level

Gary Schwitzer | October 4, 2011
October is breast cancer awareness month. But October 13th is National Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day. Women with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) argue that "awareness" should not be the only message ' or even the main message'of the month. Here are 13 facts they think you should know...

Patient Engagement: Expert David Sobel Talks about Challenges

David Sobel | October 3, 2011
This interview with David Sobel is the fourth in a series of brief chats between CFAH president and founder, Jessie Gruman and experts - our CFAH William Ziff Fellows - who have devoted their careers to understanding and encouraging people's engagement in their health and health care.

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