Dr. Elaine Schattner's notes on becoming educated as a patient
Dr. Elaine Schattner's notes on becoming educated as a patient
© Elaine Schattner, 2009, 2022 By : Template Sell.
Dear Readers, I am sad to learn of the death of Elizabeth Edwards, who died earlier today of metastatic breast cancer at the age of 61. She has taught countless people about what it’s like to live with cancer. My thoughts are with her family now. -ES Related Posts:No Related Posts
On the hematology front – Last weekend at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), researchers presented data on a new kind of blood thinner. Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) is a pill that works by blocking the activated form of human clotting factor X (Xa). The NEJM published the EINSTEIN* findings on-line ahead of […]
A perspective in this week’s NEJM considers the Emerging Importance of Patient Amenities in Patient Care. The trend is that more hospitals lure patients with hotel-like amenities: room service, magnificent views, massage therapy, family rooms and more. These services sound great, and by some measures can serve an institution’s bottom line more effectively than spending […]
Here’s a partial list of why some thoughtful, articulate patients might be reluctant to mention symptoms to their doctors:
1. Respect for the doctor – when the patient feels what he’s experiencing isn’t worth taking up a physician’s time, what I’d call the “time-worthy” problem;
2. Guilt – when the patient feels she shouldn’t complain about anything relatively minor, because she’s lucky to be alive;
3. Worry – when patient’s anxious or afraid the symptoms are a sign of the condition worsening, and so
This morning I visited my spine surgeon for a check-up. What’s nice is the feeling I have about his office staff: they’re pleasant, gentle people who seem always eager in their work, and that helps. I got big hugs from his nurse, an office manager and biller. Even the x-ray technician seemed glad to assist […]
A link to a video, the Too Informed Patient came my way several times lately. You can find the curious clip on NPR’s Marketplace site: The Too Informed Patient from Marketplace on Vimeo. — The skit depicts the interaction between a young man with a rash and his older physician. The patient is an informed […]
