Patient

Should prisons require co-pays for inmate health care?

Patient
June 18, 2010

In the U.S., correctional facilities are required by law to provide inmates with access to medical care. As health care costs have spiraled out of control everywhere, jails and prisons have attempted to develop innovative ways of reducing this hefty financial burden while simultaneously meeting their legal obligation to provide care.

One approach that has gained significant popularity in recent years is to require inmates to pay a small fee, usually …

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Why abstinence only sex education is a waste of money

Patient
June 18, 2010

Since 1992, the federal government has spent close to $1 billion on abstinence-only sex education, despite growing evidence that these ideology-based programs are ineffective in delaying the onset of sexual activity, preventing teen pregnancy and the spread of sexually-transmitted disease among teens.

Meanwhile, comprehensive sex education—the kind where teens are given information about both abstinence and contraceptives—has received virtually no federal funding.

That’s why it was so encouraging when President Obama released …

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E-mail can screen college students for depression

Patient
June 17, 2010

by Kristina Fiore

E-mail may be a simple and cheap way to screen college students for depression, but it’s not likely to motivate them to seek treatment, researchers said.

A commonly-used depression screening tool sent in e-mail blasts to students at four colleges put the prevalence of major depressive disorder at 14.5%, Irene Shyu, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues reported at a poster session at the American Psychiatric …

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Third world doctors are the real physician heroes

Patient
June 11, 2010

I recently was involved in a web discussion on elective choices with a group of medical students.

Financial considerations aside, I was surprised how few were interested in visiting third world countries to see how medicine is practiced outside the first world comfort zone of unlimited expertise, investigation and therapy — where “want” often exceeds “need.”

The third world however is completely different. It’s an environment where doctors and nurses are in …

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How to talk to patients with an EMR in the room

Patient
June 9, 2010

I see a lot of articles by physicians complaining about how the use of a computerized medical record (EMR) in the exam room with patients detracts from the physician-patient experience.

The complaint usually follows the theme that the physician and patient are not able to have eye contact, and both the physician and the patient feel less intimate and connected during the visit because the physician’s need to use the keyboard, …

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How online patient communities make money from patient data

Patient
June 9, 2010

Websites that encourage patients to share their experiences are growing in popularity.

But how reliable are they, and for those that are profit-driven, how do they make their money?

A recent story in the New York Times attempts to answer those questions.

There are plenty of benefits that these sites offer, like providing patients with a virtual support group of sorts. That’s something that most find tremendously helpful and is missing …

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My CNN column on how empowered patients can help doctors

Patient
June 7, 2010

Welcome readers from CNN.com!

“E-patients are an essential part of the health care team, and play an increasingly influential role in the shared decision making process with their physicians.”

That’s what I wrote in a CNN.com column published this morning, entitled, Will the doctor answer your e-mail?

However, doctors aren’t given the tools or the time to properly engage empowered patients, despite …

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Adoption lessons after Artyom Savelyev

Patient
June 5, 2010

The trauma for Artyom continues. After having been given up to an orphanage by his alcoholic mother who lost her parental rights, being adopted by a US family, sent back to Russia alone when his adoptive mother allegedly was unable to cope with his psychological problems, he has now become the object of a tug-of war between Russia and the US over his citizenship. His future seems to hold unimaginable …

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Listening to nurses is key to being a good doctor

Patient
June 3, 2010

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I’m a doctor. We get all the glory. And credit. And guess what? We only deserve part of it.

I started out in medicine in the mid-80’s, volunteering at an ER. And the biggest shock to me was learning how much of what happens in a hospital is nurse territory. Doctors will see you anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes a day, …

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Questions patients should be asking their doctors

Patient
June 2, 2010

An excerpt from Top 5 Questions to Ask Your Doctor

by Sagar Nigwekar, MD and James Sutton, RPA-C

Tips for Talking to Your Doctor

Entering a doctor’s office can be like entering a different world. There are often “rules” and “protocols” that the doctor, nurses, and staff follow that you may not be familiar with. This book offers some very helpful questions for you to have an intelligent conversation with …

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Why prescription drugs are not taken by patients

Patient
June 1, 2010

How many patients actually take the prescription drugs that their doctors prescribe them?

Less than you think.

Pauline Chen, in a recent New York Times’ column, discusses the worrisome issue of medication noncompliance.

And the numbers are stark. According to the data, “as many as half of all patients did not follow their doctors’ advice when it came to medications,” and, “more than 20 percent of first-time patient prescriptions were never …

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Medical compliance from a patient perspective

Patient
May 31, 2010

The new definition of participatory medicine at the Society’s website notes that patients “shift from being mere passengers to responsible drivers of their health, and … providers encourage and value them as full partners.” As with any collaboration, this must include a hefty dose of listening by both parties.

I recently returned from an extraordinary week in Minnesota, with visits to several thought-provoking care facilities. The week was all about …

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Patient relationships with their doctors over time

Patient
May 27, 2010

by Sandeep Grewal, MD

We as doctors and patients as well as medicine as a whole have evolved over time. What used to be a simple conversation of between a doctor and a patient has turned into a melee of medical issues, legal issues, insurance and financial issues and not to mention the complicated ICD 9 and CPT code system.

Conversation between a doctor and patient in 1960s:

Patient: Sir, I am …

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Treating patients in prison for murder

Patient
May 26, 2010

Correctional psychiatrists inevitably treat patients who have been convicted of a broad array of crimes. There is a correlation between the security level of the institutions in which one works and the severity of the crimes of the inmates being housed there.

Since I’ve treated inmates of minimum, medium, and maximum custody levels, I’ve had the opportunity to work with people who have been convicted of everything from drug possession to …

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Voluntary simplicity can ease the stress of American life

Patient
May 24, 2010

Who hasn’t heard the story of a friend or acquaintance who retires only to become seriously ill or die soon after?

Are we working ourselves to death? For anyone who has ever wondered “is this worth it?” a move is afoot to question the concept of the American work ethic. We are currently the most overworked society on the globe. The United States has surpassed Japan as the nation with the …

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Chronic migraines changed this patient’s life

Patient
May 21, 2010

by Diana E. Lee

When I start to think about all the things I want to do, I end up feeling like my life is on hold, waiting for some miracle to come along and make me better. There was a time when I believed I would get better. Now I’m not so sure.

I was just getting started in my career in 2003 when my migraines exploded from periodic to chronic. …

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Children with DNR orders and the liability risk for schools

Patient
May 18, 2010

by Crystal Phend

When children with complex chronic diseases have do-not-attempt-resuscitation orders in place, schools should honor them, the American Academy of Pediatrics urged.

More children with diseases that may involve sudden and potentially fatal attacks are attending school due to legal and societal trends over the past decade, according to a statement in the May issue of Pediatrics.

While these requests are honored in hospitals and nursing homes, schools may find it …

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What can patients really expect from their physicians today?

Patient
May 14, 2010

It may seem odd during these turbulent, cynical times, but a lot of people still trust their personal physician. People that have high trust in their physician tend to believe that their physician;

* Is up-to-date with the latest medical treatments
* Keeps track of all important aspects of their health during and between visits
* Can be depended upon to act in the patient’s best interest

This broad-brushed view of patient trust …

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Added sugars worsen cholesterol levels

Patient
May 13, 2010

Added sugars hit a new low this week. A study published in JAMA found that people who consume higher quantities of added sugars have worse cholesterol profiles than those who consume less.

First of, what are added sugars? Added sugars simply put are sugars that are added into foods (in contrast to naturally-occurring sugars that you find in fruits). The JAMA article writes that added sugars are “defined as caloric sweeteners …

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