When Optimism Is Unrealistic
When Optimism Is Unrealistic
But despite clearly understanding the purpose, and limits, of early-phase trials, the patients were also blinded by what researchers called an “unrealistic optimism,” or an optimistic bias, when it came to applying that knowledge to their own particular situations. A majority of patients assumed that the experimental drugs would control their cancer and that they would experience benefits but not complications.
In essence, they believed they would fare better than the average patient enrolled in the same trial.
NY Times 3/3/11
9/4/10 Medical Myths That Can Kill You
Some myths are harmless. But some can kill you if you don’t get the facts from a doctor. In this Lifescript exclusive, NBC News medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman debunks the most dangerous health misconceptions – and shares secrets that could save your life. Plus, test your women’s health IQ…
8/01/2010 Nurse Navigators – A New Patients Advocate
Navigating through the emotional, medical, social and financial process after being diagnosed with a serious disease is completely foreign to most people. The feeling of being alone, scared and confused is typical. Realizing just how intimidating this is, hospitals have started patient advocacy programs that enable patients with experts to navigate them from diagnosis to treatment and hopefully a cure.
Abnormal Test Results May Not Get to Patients
If you think your doctor will automatically tell you if you have an abnormal test result, think again. Researchers studying office procedures among primary care physicians found evidence that more than 7 percent of clinically significant findings were never reported to the patient.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/23/health/23patient.html
When All Else Fails, Blaming the Patient Often Comes Next
Doctors and psychotherapists generally don’t like it when their patients don’t get better. But the fact is that lots of patients elude our clinical skill and therapeutic cleverness. That’s often when the trouble starts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/21/health/21mind.html
Patient Power- Making Sure Your Doctor Really Hears
It’s one thing to feel like a master of the universe when wearing a buttoned-down power suit. But how can you negotiate anything — how can you even contemplate “Getting to Yes,” as one motivational best seller puts it — when standing barefoot in a paper gown under the fluorescent lights at a hospital or a medical clinic?
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/15/health/15cons.html
Patient Satisfaction: the Hospitalist's Role
Patient satisfaction is a highly desirable outcome of clinical care in the hospital and may even be an element of health status itself (1). A patient’s expression of satisfaction or dissatisfaction is a judgment on the quality of hospital care in all of its aspects. Whatever its strengths and limitations, patient satisfaction is an indicator that should be indispensable to the assessment of the quality of care in hospitals.
Bedside Manner: Advocating for a Relative in the Hospital
Bedside Manner: Advocating for a Relative in the Hospital – Wall Street Journal writer Melinda Beck wrote an article on the need and the value of having someone in the patients corner. All too often, we read about errors that were avoidable. Perhaps having someone who is only concerned with the welfare of one person can avert disaster and elevate the quality of care.
020109advocatingforrelativeinhospital
For Cancer Patients, Empathy Goes a Long Way
For Cancer Patients, Empathy Goes a Long Way- Marcus Wellby may have only been a TV show, but lessons of bedside manner work. Emotional support from the doctor goes a long way to helping the patient. The Journal of Clinical Oncology reported that too few doctors were able to convey empathy and training them would improve patients outcomes.
Digitized Medical Record
Digitized Medical Record – Becoming more and more a means of containing information that may help to clarify information and avoid life threatening mistakes.
