Dave comment: I’m learning that Digest curator Casey has a taste for longer pieces than most internet articles. Take a peek at links that interest you. Here’s today’s selection.
The “holy grail” of frictionless data sharing: HITConsultant weighs in with an op-ed related to GMDD delivered, if you will. “Is Universal Health Data Platforms the “Holy Grail” of Interoperability?” (As we said last week, GMDD = Gimme My DaM Data, the cry of e-patients who want to have all their medical information. As the song says, “It’s all about me so it’s mine.”)
How to talk to science resisters: Here’s something from The Grist that tackles a tough issue: how to shift the thinking of parents who don’t want to vaccinate their kids. The Grist has been reporting on climate and environmental science since 1999, so they’re very familiar with the challenge of engaging with a “don’t confuse me with the facts” crowd: “How to talk to an anti-vaxxer”
In Let Patients Help I said “Information alone doesn’t change behavior,” which is very much on topic here. What can you say that will make any difference?
Caveat “precision”: “Precision medicine” is a hot topic, given President Obama’s announcement from the White House Jan. 20. (SPM president Nick Dawson was there – see his post on e-patients.net) on Jan. 30. Former SPM president Michael Millenson has been writing about healthcare for decades, and offers up a fact-based caution against letting genomic testing companies brand themselves as offering “precision medicine” without the science to support that claim. “Breast Cancer Tests Betray ‘Precision Medicine’ Branding”
Will healthcare spending drop or soar? Dr. Peter Ubel, MD and behavioral scientist, asks a question on Forbes that’s been rising in the cost-of-care circles where both Dave and I engage: is healthcare spending slowing, or “Is Healthcare Spending About To Accelerate?”
Questioning Medical Protocol: Randi Oster is an aerospace engineer, and the mom of a son with a chronic illness. In a post on the Engaging Patients blog, she shares a story that illustrates how the steep learning curves every e-patient navigates work best in tandem with an open mind and a sense of humor. “Questioning Protocol, a Family’s Perspective”
Funny Monday: I (Casey) am a longtime TV geek. Not just watching it, producing it. So I can weigh in with a professional POV, TV-wise and e-patient-wise, with a must-watch recommendation: HBO’s “Getting On,” set in a southern California extended-care facility. LA Weekly agrees with me. “HBO’s ‘Getting On’ Has What It Takes to Be a Truly Important Show”