e-Patients Blog
The blog of the Society for Participatory Medicine. Want to be a contributor?
Patient Communities: Which Way Forward?
If you were designing a disease treatment system from scratch, bringing together clinicians, patients, researchers, and advocates, what platform would you use to take advantage of the community created by this umbrella group? This isn't just some health geek SimCity...
Reflections after a specialist visit *without* OpenNotes
Next in our series on my experience with OpenNotes, a project sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio. This item has nothing to do with OpenNotes itself - it's what I'm seeing now that I've started accessing my doctor's notes. In short, I...
Must-hear: four Journal of Participatory Medicine contributors discuss how we know what we know
Last night I got word of an unexpected treat: an hour-long conversation between some real experts about participatory medicine. It's on Andrew Schorr's Patient Power site - he and his team are powerhouses as well, and they produced a special hour-long audio program. I...
Blowing your mind with Doc Tom’s seven laws of self care
Regular readers know that our founder, "Doc Tom" Ferguson, was an absolute visionary who saw that patients have a much bigger role in their own health than most people realize - at least in our culture. The white paper at top right of this site is the culmination of...
Why Victor Montori joined the Society for Participatory Medicine
Next in our "Why I Joined" series is Victor Montori, MD of the Mayo Clinic. My wife and I met him in May; he's high energy, with boundless optimism. And as you'll see, he feels very strongly about patients being at the center of healthcare. The civil rights movement...
We’re quoted in PBS Newshour online
Our Susannah Fox (and her research) are quoted in a piece yesterday on PBS Newshour's online edition about the HealthCare.gov insurance research site. There's also a small quote from me.
Essential e-patient topic: understanding the challenges of pathology and diagnosis
Two posts have brought into wrenching relief one of the more difficult topics I've encountered in healthcare: the challenge of understanding diagnosis, especially when difficult pathology is involved. It started with When a biopsy cannot completely rule out cancer, a...
“Give Us Our Dammed Data” – Regina Holliday
17 authors with weapons in hand stare down upon the viewer. The three panel painting measures 60 inches by 144 inches. It is a very large painting, and yet it is crowded with those who have been hurt and those who have suffered. Every one of them is an author. Nearly...
Majority of consumers use social networks to influence buying decisions (Gartner)
A majority of consumers' buying decisions are influenced by social networks, according to a new study from research firm Gartner, says ReadWriteWeb. Three types of key influencers (20% of users) are heeded by 74% of all consumers. We'd like to see this analysis...
Why Mark Boguski joined the Society for Participatory Medicine
Next in our series, Mark Boguski, MD, PhD is both a personal and a corporate member, as co-founder with Dr. Alan Littleford of ResoundingHealth. If you'd like to submit your own reason, write to me. (This is not an "invitation only" series - that wouldn't be like us!...
Moving the mountain: Producing evidence and results on methods for better care
I ran across a graphic today that warmed my heart: Recognize that agenda? (Click to enlarge if you want more clarity.) Sure is a lot of what we've discussed. Pie in the sky, tough hill to climb, nice idea but not feasible, right? Wrong. Thursday I'm at a quarterly...
Dear White House: The Personal Data Challenge
Gary Wolf of Wired has posted a whizbang write-up that came out of a whirlwind one-hour 12-way Skype chat about personal health data. Sound frenetic? It was. (I participated. It was, well, 12-way.) I can't imagine how to model what happened, except to say that it was...
