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February 12, 2015 By e-Patient Dave Leave a Comment

Daily Digest: People-powered care + 5 more Thursday treats

ICYMI (That’s “in case you missed it”, for the less-hip reader – Dave): Yesterday was a big day in patient liberation. The BMJ (formerly known as the British Medical Journal) devoted an entire edition to people-powered medical care. Here’s Dave’s complete list of the 21 articles(!): “Big BMJ supplement on Patient Centred Care”

Doximity data on doc income: Transparency is spreading across all parts of healthcare, including MD salaries for various specialties across the US, courtesy of Doximity, which calls itself “LinkedIn for Doctors.” The Atlantic has the 411: “What Doctors Make”

Paying for the unaffordable: When you get hit with a healthcare sideswipe, like cancer or a stroke, the costs of care can ramp up pretty quick. If you’re uninsured, or under-insured, paying for care can be a steep hill to climb. Many people in that situation are taking to crowdfunding their medical care, according to this NY Times piece. “Managing Health Costs With Crowdfunding”  (But be sure what you’re donating to is legit – there’s a lot of controversy around “Hannah’s Fund” fraud imitators on GoFundMe. – Dave)

Precision Medicine, Take 1: Moving from “one size fits all” medicine to what I (Casey) call “snowflake medicine” will require some serious DNA assay assembly. This piece from MIT Technology Review talks about Take 1 on that idea. “U.S. to Develop DNA Study of One Million People”

From the “This Should Be Obvious” desk: In a 2007 study published in the journal Health Services Research, the question of patient activation as a motivating factor in self-management of chronic conditions was raised. Their research concluded “maybe” … but we’d love to see a follow-up in the current age of quantified-self tracking. “Do Increases in Patient Activation Result in Improved Self-Management Behaviors?”

Mission Possible: On his “Musings of a Distractible Mind blog,” one of our favorite family doctors, Rob Lamberts, talks about his mission to transform medical practice, with his own practice as ground zero. He doesn’t take insurance, his is a direct-care practice. Think more “country doctor” than “Royal Pains.” Here’s his take on the team he’s working with to drive change at ground level. “The Mission”

 

Filed Under: Digests Tagged With: BMJ, crowdfunding, doctor salary, Dr. Rob Lamberts, medical costs, patient activation, precision medicine, self management Leave a Comment

February 9, 2015 By e-Patient Dave Leave a Comment

Daily Digest: Is interop the Holy Grail?, science resisters, four more

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”

 

Filed Under: Digests Tagged With: "Getting On", #gmdd, healthcare spending, HITConsultant, Michael Millenson, Peter Ubel, precision medicine, Questioning Protocol, Randi Oster, The Grist Leave a Comment

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