e-Patients Blog
The blog of the Society for Participatory Medicine. Want to be a contributor?
Happy Birthday Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security
On July 30, 2015, Medicare and Medicaid will celebrate their 50th birthday. In August of 2015 Social Security, celebrates its 80th birthday. Amendments to the Social Security Act (Title XIX) that established guaranteed basic health coverage programs for all elderly,...
Partnering with Patients – From Theory to Practice: #HealthcareTransformers
Three continents. Five patients. Three conferences. Dramatic change is occurring in healthcare where patients, “the true transformers in care”, are changing the playing field, and redefining how they want to engage and affect change. The Society for Participatory...
A Turing test for diagnosis: BMJ evaluates online symptom checkers; good Globe article
A new article in the BMJ this week reports on a good, clever evaluation of 29 online symptom checkers, showing that some have a clue and some don't. I love it; in my view the bottom line is "Some are better than nothing, none is near perfect, and some are junk. Learn,...
Monthly introduction to e-Patients.net
This is our monthly introduction to e-Patients.net, blog of the Society for Participatory Medicine. Follow the Society on Twitter (@S4PM), Facebook, and LinkedIn. Here's how to become a Society member, individual or corporate. Our publications: This...
Conference Organizers to Affected Patients: “Go Fund Yourself”!
SPM member MaryAnne Sterling is Co-founder of tech startup Connected Health Resources - she's a healthcare transformer and person-centered care activist whose motto is: no family caregiver left behind. A recent experience, what she calls her "go fund yourself" moment,...
No Rhyme or Reason
We have read and heard a lot about the disparities in the cost of care from one hospital or clinic to another. We have read and heard a lot of grumbling about the uneven availability of health care services in this country. Many of us have been outraged to learn that...
Healthcare Econ 101 from SPM’s Nick Dawson
Our fearless leader, Nick Dawson, has a terrific piece up on RVANews.com about the issues around building a children's hospital in Richmond, Virginia. An excerpt: 100% of healthcare costs are passed onto the public. Most costs seem to be borne by insurance companies....
On Making Patient Reviews of Physicians More Useful
I recently hosted a Google Hangout on Air entitled Patient Reviews of Physicians: The Wisdom of the Crowd? (presented by The Harlow Group LLC in association with The Society for Participatory Medicine). I spoke with Niam Yaraghi (Center for Technology Innovation, The...
SPM applauds King v Burwell – “making healthcare accessible & participatory for all”
The Society for Participatory Medicine believes that an effective healthcare system is a collaborative one, where care providers and the patients and families they care for work together toward the best possible health outcomes. The importance of this partnership...
Tune in for Patient Reviews of Physicians: The Wisdom of the Crowd?
Patient Reviews of Physicians: The Wisdom of the Crowd? Google Hangout On Air Hosted by David Harlow with Niam Yaraghi and Casey Quinlan Wed, Jun 24, 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET Presented by David Harlow (aka HealthBlawg) in association with The Society for Participatory...
The Role of Dignity in Health Care
Every patient wants to be treated with dignity. However, when you are sitting in a doctor’s exam room, holding together a hospital gown that somehow does not want to completely fit around you, or close properly, it is difficult to feel that you have any dignity. ...
Guest Post by Matthew Katz, MD: E-Patients Deserve E-Doctors
Matthew S. Katz, MD, is the Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Lowell General Hospital and a lifetime member of S4PM. He is former Chair of Communications Committee for the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and external advisor for Mayo Clinic’s...