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What I learned at Health Foo

Just in case anyone is curious: my notes from Health Foo, a meeting held last weekend in Cambridge, MA. It’s long, so skim for the 9 lessons if you want a shortcut. What: Foo Camp is an unconference, constructed on the spot by the people who show up, with just a...

Health Month, the game

I admit it: I’m not a gamer. But I am competitive. Plus I love micro-fitness challenges and I’ve read (and believe the lessons of) The Decision Tree. So when Jen McCabe described Health Month, I was intrigued. It’s a game in which you choose the...

Would Your Doctor Pay for Wasted Time? (CNN.com)

Strictly speaking this isn’t about participatory medicine, but it is about being an empowered consumer of care. There are several dimensions to empowerment, including (but not limited to): Knowing what you want Recognizing whether you’re getting it When...

What if information spread more quickly than a virus?

On March 11, the White House hosted an event to mark National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The event was livestreamed from whitehouse.gov and is archived on YouTube: I have written before about the unique nature of conferences concerning...

“I Am Iron Man”

Guest post by SPM member Regina Holliday. Perhaps because my world-view is shaped by the escapades and explanations of active little boys, I often speak of super-heroes in relation to health care.  I listen daily to tales of poisonous spider bites, DNA mutations and...

IHI releases video of SPM’s keynote

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) has generously released the session video of the keynote that SPM president Dr. Danny Sands and I delivered at the IHI’s annual Forum in December. At this event the IHI did two extraordinary patient-oriented things:...

Six US health systems to share data

For those who believe in the power of facts, some wonderful news from CMIO, 12/15/10: “Six of the nation’s leading healthcare systems — Cleveland Clinic, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Denver Health, Geisinger Health System, Intermountain Healthcare and Mayo Clinic...

Going Viral Against HIV and STIs

The New York State Department of Health AIDS Institute, in partnership with AIDS.gov, held a one-day forum on social media, HIV, and sexually transmitted infections (STI) that turned out to be an unfiltered discussion of love, truth, and technology. Why was it so...

Smashing myths & assumptions on PHR use (Chilmark)

John Moore of Chilmark Research has another great post, this time on the realities being discovered about PHR use among the urban poor – something most observers considered unlikely. It’s aptly titled Smashing Myths & Assumptions: PHR for Urban...

How One Cancer Center Lets Patients Call the Shots

Guest post by Erin Macartney (Twitter) of Palo Alto Medical Foundation. We would welcome similar posts from providers (or anyone else) who’s illustrating what we advocate in the Society for Participatory Medicine: truly patient-centered care, in which...

“Empowered Patient” special on CNN

Elizabeth Cohen is surely the most visible spokesperson for patient empowerment, because she’s on CNN and CNN.com. She’s got an hour-long special on CNN this weekend. Highly recommended, especially for friends and family who don’t get what this is...

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