Jessie Gruman
CFAH President
Jessie Gruman is president and founder of the Center for Advancing Health, a nonpartisan, Washington-based policy institute which, since 1992, has been supported by foundations and individuals to work on people’s engagement in their health care from the patient perspective. Prior to founding CFAH, Gruman worked on these same concerns in the private sector (AT&T), the public sector (National Institutes of Health) and the voluntary health sector (American Cancer Society).
What does it take for all Americans to find good health care and make the most of it? |
How Easily We Can Misinterpret the Benefits of Patient-Centered Innovation!
May 8, 2013
Here's the bad news: We will not benefit from the health care services, drugs, tests and procedures available to us unless we pay attention, learn about our choices, interact with our clinicians and follow through on the plans we make together.
The "True Grit"-tiness of Sharing Health Care Decisions with Our Doctors
May 1, 2013
In the Coen brothers remake of the 1969 movie True Grit, Mattie Ross, an intrepid 14-year-old, is determined to hunt down and kill the man who murdered her father. To accomplish this, she hires U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn, (played by a mumbling Jeff Bridges) a rough, one-eyed veteran of many such quests then announces that she plans to come along. She figures she is prepared.
Bad Language: Words One Patient Won't Use (and Hopes You Won't Either)
April 24, 2013
When I read Trudy Lieberman’s post yesterday, I was reminded that the highly charged political debates about reforming American health care have provided tempting opportunities to rename the people who receive health services. But because the impetus for this change has been prompted by cost and quality concerns of health care payers, researchers and policy experts rather than emanating from us out of our own needs, some odd words have been called into service.
Whose Patient Engagement Goals Are We Talking About?
April 17, 2013
What we look for when we participate actively in our health care differs from what our clinicians, employers and health plans believe will result when we shift from being passive to active participants. We don't have the same goals in mind. Does this matter?
Has Patient Engagement Stalled?
April 10, 2013
A few discouraging reports on patient engagement have skittered across my desk in the past few weeks. What's going on? Why are so many of us so slow to engage in our care when it is increasingly clear that we will do better if we participate more fully? Here's what I suspect...
Health Affairs Briefing: New Era of Patient Engagement
W Hotel, Washington, DC
February 6, 2013
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AcademyHealth National Health Policy Conference
Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington, DC
February 4, 2013
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Institute of Medicine Evidence Communication Innovation Collaborative
Keck Center of the National Academies, Washington, DC
January 14, 2013
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QualityNet Conference: A More Perfect Union:
Jessie Gruman delivered the keynote address titled "Beyond Buzzwords: What It Really Means to Engage Patients in Their Care"
Baltimore, Maryland
December 11, 2012
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Kimmel Center, New York University
Jessie Gruman spoke about "When a Friend or Loved One Gets a Cancer Diagnosis: How to Respond?"
New York, NY
December 4, 2012
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National Health Council's Washington Representatives Retreat
Jessie Gruman participated in a panel discussion on comparative effectiveness research.
Annapolis, Maryland
November 29, 2012
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JESSIE'S TWEETS
An Accidental Tourist Finds Her Way in the Dangerous Land of Serious Illness
Health Affairs February issue, A New Era of Patient Engagement, selected my essay, An Accidental Tourist Finds Her Way in the Dangerous Land of Serious Illness, for its Narrative Matters piece. In the essay, I share experiences from my latest cancer diagnosis and call for policies to support patients and families with the increased responsibilities they face to find good health care and make the most of it.
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When Your Doctor Says, “I Have Bad News”
Jessie offers advice on how to cope with a scary diagnosis – withoug getting caught up in the chaos of fear. Written by Jon Spayde for Experience Life magazine's November 2012 issue.
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The Lemon of Illness and the Demand for Lemonade – “The Open Mind” Interview
Richard Heffner, host of The Open Mind on PBS, interviewed me about what it’s like to be a patient in the midst of changes in health care delivery, advances in information technology and the implementation of new health policies.
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