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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Worried about the Cost and Quality of Health Care

Conversation Continues | May 29, 2012
9 out of 10 sick people, (those with a serious illness, medical condition, injury or disability), are worried about the costs of medical care according to a new poll from RWJF/Harvard, 'What It's Like to be Sick in America'.

Guest Blog: Why You'll Listen to Me ' but Not to Your Doctor

Carolyn Thomas | May 25, 2012
As I like to remind my women's heart health presentation audiences, I am not a physician. I'm not a nurse. I am merely a dull-witted heart attack survivor. I also warn them that a lot of what I'm about to say to them is already available out there, likely printed on some wrinkled-up Heart and Stroke Foundation brochure stuffed into the magazine rack at their doctor's office.

Prepared Patient: Sick at Work (Updated Version)

Health Behavior News Service | May 25, 2012
The typical week of sick time provided most employees may be enough if you get hit with the flu or a cold. But what happens when you have a chronic condition, such as Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis or diabetes, and the time off you need exceeds your number of sick days? What protections do you have if you require major surgery?

'Death Panels': Beliefs and Disbeliefs in Health Care

Trudy Lieberman | May 23, 2012
Virginia was particularly concerned that she would not get medical treatment after she turns 75. She had heard at that age, 'they send you a letter. They are going to start sending you literature on death.'

Operating Theater: Magnificent New Hospitals Do Not Equal Quality Care

Jessie Gruman | May 23, 2012
The pianist was playing Chopin in the beautiful but deserted four-story lobby of the new hospital where my father was being cared for. The contrast between that lovely lobby and the minimal attention my dad received over the weekend, combined with a report about the architectural 'whimsy" of a new hospital at Johns Hopkins make me cranky.

Are You Afraid of Being Labeled a Difficult Patient?

Barbara Bronson Gray | May 16, 2012
Turns out we're a nation of doctor pleasers when it comes to health care. A recent study found that patients avoid challenging their physicians because they're afraid of getting the "difficult patient" label.

Advice Urges Wider Sharing of Heart Care Decisions

Jessie Gruman | May 16, 2012
The goal is "not only living long, it's living well. People often make decisions about the 'long' without even considering the 'well,'" said Jessie Gruman, president of the Center for Advancing Health, a patient advocacy group.

Reading, Writing'Weight Control?

Conversation Continues | May 15, 2012
"If you believe this is a massive national problem, you have to deal with it in a systems way," says, Dan Glickman, chair of an Institute of Medicine panel/report, "Accelerating Progress in Obesity Prevention".

Guest Blog: What Fuels Patients Searching Online

Andrew Schorr | May 10, 2012
From day one, Patient Power has been about giving a voice to patients and addressing the real concerns and issues of patients and caregivers. That's one reason we do regular visitor surveys, such as our current Spring 2012 survey. We constantly strive to better understand the people we serve; their needs and concerns; and the impact of what we provide. The initial results are fascinating and I wanted to share some here...

What's Engagement Now? Expert Sarah Greene Discusses Emerging Challenges

Sarah Greene | May 9, 2012
I discovered somewhat by accident early in my career -- that science makes faster progress and produces better results if more people with a range of different expertise are brought together. In the past 10 years, I've extended this belief to patients' participation in their care.

Selling Screening Tests

Trudy Lieberman | May 8, 2012
A few weeks ago, a letter arrived from the Life Line Screening company enticing me to come in for a 'simple, potentially lifesaving screening' to assess my risk for strokes and other vascular diseases.

Self-Efficacy, part 2

Connie Davis | May 7, 2012
Whenever I am in an interaction, I know these three ideas can help shape the encounter. How is the person doing with these three tasks? What can I do to help? Are they confident in these three tasks?

I'm Not Taking That Drug if it Makes Me Itch! More on Medication Adherence

Jessie Gruman | May 2, 2012
Our unwillingness to take our medicine as directed is often mistakenly viewed by clinicians and researchers as a sign that we are not 'engaged' in our care. Baloney. Many of us would be perfectly happy to do so were it not for those pesky side effects.

Guest Blog: Waiting Too Long for the Doctor? What to Do

Barbara Bronson Gray | May 1, 2012
Waiting to see a physician is much, much different from waiting for an airplane or a bus'A friend recently asked me: Why do we have to wait so long for doctors and not for other professionals, like lawyers, accountants or dentists? And is there anything we can we do about it?

Resources to help people find good care and make the most of it.