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Helen Palmquist: Supporting my cyber-sisters with words of hope

by Kathleen O'Malley | Feb 8, 2012

Guest blogger Helen Palmquist is a member of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance support community, hosted by Inspire. She lives in suburban Chicago. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 41, in the pre-Web days of 1987. From my hospital bed after my first...

HBR blog: “The trouble with treating patients as consumers”

by e-Patient Dave | Jan 10, 2012

Edited a few minutes after the original post. Over on the Harvard Business Review blog a post yesterday is stirring up discussion. I hope well-informed SPM members can help shed some light in the comments there, citing as many specifics as you can. (As I compiled the...

Action in the face of uncertainty

by e-Patient Dave | Nov 2, 2011

Science seeks certainty. The problem in medicine is, the body is complex and our knowledge is incomplete. People who want certainty – physicians or patients – are kidding themselves. And if we expect docs to be perfect, it’s a setup for dysfunction....

“When I became a patient, I felt my identity slipping away.”

by e-Patient Dave | Oct 11, 2011

Participatory medicine requires an empowered partnership, in which patients express their wants and pursue their goals in partnership with providers who hear them and work together. And that’s not just about the biology. In this powerful narrative, a hospital...

Neel Shah: Using bedside stories to unmuddy the waters

by Kathleen O'Malley | Sep 19, 2011

Guest blogger Dr. Neel Shah is the Executive Director of www.CostsOfCare.org and a senior resident in the Massachusetts General Hospital-Brigham & Women’s Hospital combined residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Last year, the nonprofit that I direct launched an...

Tami Boehmer: Hope versus statistics

by Kathleen O'Malley | Sep 12, 2011

Guest blogger Tami Boehmer shares a recent conversation with e-Patient Dave about the pitfalls of survival statistics and the power of hope. Tami’s blog, “From Incurable to Incredible,” is at www.miraclesurvivors.com. I recently had the honor of...