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Doctor
Patient
Communications |
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The
Doctor - Patient Disconnect
Command respect from
your doctor. |
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No Room
for White Lies
Fibbing to your
doctor can be dangerous |
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Behold the Second Opinion
Second opinions are
important, but there are some guidelines for
getting the best information. |
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Three
questions you should ask your doctor
The AskMe3
group provides guidelines to patients. |
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Follow Up on Test Results
Don't assume
your doctor's office will provide test
results when they come in. Be proactive! |
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Be Informed Before You Give Consent
When you visit
your doctor, you are asked to sign an
"informed consent" form. Read why you
need to make sure you really have been
informed, and you understand the information
you are given. |
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Who's Who in Health Care? (part I)
There are so many
initials after the names of healthcare
providers. Here are the designations
given to doctors. |
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Who's Who in Health Care? (part
II)
More
o As
You're Told!
Complying with your
doctor's instructions is an important part
of healing. |
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Ask
Health Care Workers to Wash Their Hands
You will
be
amazed
at how
effective
this tip
can be
to
prevent
yourself
from
getting
infected. |
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Tell ALL
Your
Doctors
What You
Think!
Providing
feedback
to the
doctor
who
treated
you is
important,
but just
as
important
is
letting
the
person
who
referred
you know
about
your
experience,
too. |
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Five
Words
Make all
the
Difference
Once
your
doctor
provides
you with
a
diagnosis,
what
should
you do
next to
make
sure
you'll
get the
best
treatment? |
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Think
Like a
Consumer
to Stay
Healthy!
Be
sure
your
doctor's
motives
are
focused
on you
and not
on his
or her
skills
or
income. |
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When
You and
Your
Doctor
Disagree
You've
made
your
choices
for
treatment
and
follow
up care,
but your
doctor
disagrees
and
doesn't
want to
support
your
decision.
What
does an
empowered
patient
do? |
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Glen's
Decision,
Revisited
The last
in the
series
about
Glen,
who
chose an
alternative
treatment
for a
brain
tumor
but had
to take
a second
look at
his
choice. |
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Tap
Into the
Knowledge
of the
Professionals
in the
Doctor's
Office
Your
doctor
isn't
the only
person
in her
office
who can
help
you.
There is
plenty
of
information
you can
get from
others.
Here's a
guide to
who can
help you
while
you are
there. |
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When
It's
Time to
Change
Doctors
Moving?
Doctor's
practice
closing?
Just
have a
feeling
that you
and your
doctor
need to
part
ways?
Here are
some
smart
steps
for
leaving
your
doctor,
and
preparing
to
transition
to the
new one. |
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When
It's
Time to
Change
Doctors
- Part
II
Part II
-
Meeting
With
Your New
Doctor
Finding
a new
doctor
gives
you an
opportunity
to start
fresh
with
your
communication,
collaboration
and
finding
your
best
medical
outcomes. |
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East,
West and
Wellness
(Complementary
and
Alternative
Medicine)
We
patients
in the
Western
world
are
beginning
to learn
about
and
embrace
Eastern
medicine,
from
herbal
supplements
to
acupuncture
and
yoga.
But what
about
our
doctors?
How can
we make
our
choices
and be
honest
with
them,
too? |
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Got a Problem with Your
Doctor? Speak Up!
We patients
do a lot of complaining about our
doctors, but what steps are we
taking to fix the relationship? |
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Doctors
Complain About Patients, Too
As you might imagine, doctors have
as many complaints about patients as
we patients have about them.
And informal survey of doctors and
other health professionals yielded a
long list of complaints. See
if you are 'guilty' of any of these
indiscretions. |
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Your
Primary Need for Primary Care
There are
many reasons we need to make sure we
have a primary care doctor ready and
willing to help us. Learn what
those reasons might be, and why it's
so important you find one if you
don't have one all ready. |
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Doctors
React to
Use of
the
Internet
Wise
patients
know to
learn
what
they can
about
diagnoses
and
treatment
options
by using
the
Internet.
But the
fact
that we
use the
Internet
isn't
always
well
received
by our
providers.
Here is
some
advice
to help
you
avoid
stepping
on
provider
toes. |
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Uncomfortable at the
Doctor's? Time to Speak Up!
Gown too small? Words
too big? Too much time spent
waiting for your appointment? What
are you going to do about it? And
if you don't, who will? |
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The Internet and Your
Doctor – Getting the
Best from Both Worlds
Symptoms? Pain? Of
course, we run to the
Internet to do a little
background research
first.... But inevitably
we need to have that
conversation with our
doctor. How can you
balance the information
they both supply without
stepping on your
doctor's toes or
upsetting him or her?
And how do you get the
best information from
each? Here's how. |
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What Your Doctor Doesn't
Know Can Hurt You
It may surprise you to
learn that specialists -
doctors with advanced
training in specific
body systems or
diseases, focus so much
on those specialty areas
that they lack knowledge
and training in some of
the basics. That
means that unless you
see the right kind of
doctor, you may not be
properly diagnosed.
Learn how to be sure
you're seeing the doctor
who can properly
diagnose and treat you. |
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Can
Patients Know Too Much?
A website that provides
education for physicians
produced a video to
teach them how to deal
with difficult patients
called
The Patient Who Knows
Too Much.
Is that possible, that a
patient can know TOO
much? You might be
surprised at my opinion. |
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Your
Most
Important
Health
Resolution
for 2012
When considering health-related resolutions, you probably expect me to
wax
poetic
on the
virtue
of
losing
weight
or
quitting
smoking. But
no, this
resolution
actually
trumps
them
both. |
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TOP OF
PAGE
Medical
Records
and
Tests |
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Build a Personal Health Journal (part 1)
Keeping track of your
personal and family medical records can help
you later when you run into health problems. |
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Records are yours for the taking (medical
records - part II)
Learn how to
get a hold of your medical records. |
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Building a Personal Health Journal (medical
records - part III)
Learn how to
get a hold of your medical records when your
doctor has closed his practice, plus a
review of systems for keeping your materials
together. |
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Follow Up on Test Results
Don't assume
your doctor's office will provide test
results when they come in. Be proactive! |
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Learn from the Headlines
It can be dangerous
to make treatment changes based on what you
hear or read in the media. Here is a
way to use that information to your benefit. |
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Defensive Medicine - It
Gets Expensive
Do you know why your
doctor orders so many
tests to try to diagnose
you? You'll be
surprised to learn that
it's very likely he's
ordering them for
himself, and not for
you. |
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Part II - Defensive
Medicine - Doctor, Is This Test
Necessary?
Defensive medicine --
undergoing more tests than we really
need -- can be dangerous and
expensive. Learn how to work
with your doctor to be sure each
test is necessary. |
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What's the Big Deal
About Electronic Medical
Records?
One patient / one record
- that's the biggest
benefit to EMRs. The
days of scattered
records, and the
problems that result
will be gone. How? and
Why? |
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Consider
Your
Advanced
Directives
Making decisions about your end of life
care, and making sure your loved ones
understand what those wishes are is a
wonderful gift which provides peace of mind.
From
DNRs to
living
wills to
healthcare
proxies
-- learn
what
they are
and why
they are
important. |
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Genetic Testing - Would
You? Should You?
Consumers may soon be
able to purchase genetic
testing kits to figure
out whether they have a
genetic pre-disposition
toward diseases like
Alzheimer's or lung
cancer. But does it
really make sense for us
patients to test
ourselves? What are some
of the pros and cons?
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Don't
Let
Medical
Test
Results
Fall
Through
the
Cracks
These
days,
every
visit to
the
doctor -
primary
care or
specialist
- seems
to
result
in an
order
for one
test or
another:
a blood
test,
imaging
test,
urinalysis,
PSA,
mammogram
or any
other.
The
results
are
provided
to your
doctor -
but does
your
doctor
provide
them to
you? If
not,
don't
assume
it's
because
there
was no
problem.
That can
be
dangerous. |
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Prescription
Drugs |
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Ads for Prescription Drugs Are A Place to
Start
Don't let those drug
companies manipulate you |
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Prescription Mistakes are Over a Million
Millions of people
have died or been injured by prescription
drug errors. Learn more about the
errors. This is Part I of two parts. |
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Prevent Prescription Errors
Keep yourself and
your loved ones safe by following this
protocol when your doctor gives you a new
prescription. This is Part II of two
parts. |
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Generic
Drugs:
What You
Need to
Know
What are
they?
Why are
they
different?
Can you
benefit
from
their
use? |
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Prescription
Abbreviations:
Cracking
the Code
The
written
prescription
handed
to you
by your
doctor
may look
confusing
due to
all the
abbreviations
and
acronyms.
But it's
important
for you
to
understand
what it
says.
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Off Label
Drugs - Be Aware to be Safe
For some,
an off label prescription can be
life saving. For others, it can
cost them their health and their
lives. Learn about off label drugs,
and how you can be sure you are
getting one that is safe for you.
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Report Problem Drugs and
Malfunctioning Medical Devices
Just like your car can have
mechanical problems, or your furnace
can go on the fritz, so can
pharmaceutical drugs and medical
devices malfunction, too. Sometimes
they weren't manufactured
correctly. Other times they may be
counterfeit. Learn how you can help
identify these problems and how to
report them to the FDA. |
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Double Check
New-to-the-Market Drugs
The FDA may approve a
drug for our use, but
that doesn't mean it's
safe. Vioxx was approved
for five years, killing
or debilitating 27,000
Americans before it was
pulled from the market.
More drugs are found to
be dangerous every year.
So how can you tell if a
new drug your doctor
prescribes is safe
for
you? Here's how.
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TOP OF
PAGE |
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No material found in this
website
is to be reproduced without
expressed written consent of the
author. |
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Hospitals
& Safety |
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MRSA :: Every Hospital's Dirty Little Secret
If you or a loved one is faced with a
hospital stay, take this cautionary tale to
keep yourself safe from infection. |
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Keep Yourself Safe from Hospital Acquired
Infections
Learn more about the necessary steps, and
the work by RID: Reduce Hospital
Deaths |
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Keep Yourself Safe
in the Emergency Room
From keeping your sense of humor to choosing
which hospital ER is best for you, here are
some ideas for getting the best care. |
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Use ICE on Your
Cell Phone
No -- not the ICE that has anything to do
with liquid refreshment! This ICE may
save a life. |
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Patient Safety Day
Almost 100,000
Americans DIE each year from medical errors
including bad surgeries, hospital acquired
infections and pharmaceutical drug mistakes.
Patients need to stand up for safe
healthcare. Learn how. |
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Prevent Your Own
Hospital Infections
105 hospitals across the United States have
proved it's possible to stop deadly central
line infections - a feat that was previously
thought to be impossible. It can be done!
But most of us don't have access to those
hospitals, so we must prevent them
ourselves. |
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Hospitals Are Employing
Many New "Ists"
What's a Nocturnist? Or a
Proceduralist? Or an Intensivist?
Or a Hospitalist? These new hospital
doctors are treating patients
everyday. If you've been
hospitalized, there's an excellent
chance they treated you. Who are
they? And what do smart patients
know about these new "ists"?
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Need Surgery? Take
Responsibility to Avoid
a Hospital Infection
Whether you need your
knee replaced, a fibroid
removed, your face
lifted, or your ACL
repaired - or any other
sort of surgery in the
hospital - you can't
rely on hospital
personnel to keep you
safe from a deadly
infection. Here are some
strategies for keeping
yourself safe so you can
recover infection-free.
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Patient Satisfaction -
Coming to a Hospital
near You
Think back to a time you
or a loved one was
hospitalized.... Would
you consider yourself a
satisfied customer? Few
would - but that may be
changing soon. Beginning
in 2012, as part of the
Affordable Care Act
(healthcare reform),
hospital reimbursements
will be partially based
on how well their
customers - us patients
- felt served. Learn
more about how this
works and why it may
benefit us patients. |
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July - a Potentially
Dangerous Time for
Healthcare
July - the perfect storm
of reasons why you may
not be able to get the
healthcare you deserve,
especially in the
hospital. From newbie
doctors to vacationing
regulars, studies show
the numbers of drug
errors in certain kinds
of hospitals go up this
time of year. My own
misdiagnosis happened
because it was July. I
say - Beware! |
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Informed Consent
Requires Clarity - Do
You Have It?
We hear of
bait-and-switch when it
comes to retail
discounts or the Sunday
coupons, but did you
know that Informed
Consent documents set us
patients up for
bait-and-switch, too?
Here's what you need to
know to be sure your
test or procedure will
work the way you expect
it will. |
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An
Open Letter to Hospitals
Hospital Report Cards give hospitals an
objective assessment of how well they are doing their
jobs. We patients can learn from these Report Cards,
because they provide an indication of how safe we are and
whether our needs will be met.
Learn more about what is measured and how you can learn more
about your local hospitals. |
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Choosing
a Safer Hospital
In my last column, I shared with you an
open letter to hospitals based on their sorry report cards for
providing safe care to patients.
So how can patients protect themselves from those hospitals with
bad track records?
Here is an approach to making sure you choose the safest one for
you. |
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A
Dose of
Reality
- Your
Doctor
Appointment
In the “old” days, we could phone for a primary care doctor’s appointment in the
morning, be seen right away, spend enough time with the doctor, leave with a
treatment plan, and usually feel better within a day or two. But no longer!
Knowing that so much has changed, how can you best prepare for a doctor
appointment today? |
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Compliance
/
Adherence |
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No Room
for White Lies
Fibbing to your
doctor can be dangerous. |
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Do As
You're Told!
Complying with your
doctor's instructions is an important part
of healing. |
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Misdiagnosis
and
Medical
Errors |
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What if you've
only got a few months to live?
Trisha explains why
she became "Every Patient's Advocate" |
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The
Problem with "Should"
A bow to National
Patient Safety Week and how to prevent
misdiagnosis. |
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The Flip of a Coin Isn't Good Enough
The Rand Healthcare
report = we all get shoddy health care. |
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MRSA -
Every
Hospital's
Dirty
Little
Secret
Learn
how to
protect
yourself
from
this "superbug"
infection
that can
kill. |
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When is
a
Specialist
the
Wrong
Specialist
for You?
Specialists know
their
own body
systems
very
well.
But many
health
problems
get
attributed
to the
wrong
body
system
-- and
those
specialists
don't
know to
look for
it
elsewhere. |
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Can
You Risk Not Getting a Second
Opinion?
As you might imagine, doctors have
as many complaints about patients as
we patients have about them.
And informal survey of doctors and
other health professionals yielded a
long list of complaints. See
if you are 'guilty' of any of these
indiscretions.
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Successful
body Repair May Require a Different
Specialist
If you have
a leak under your kitchen sink, do
you call an electrician? Of course
not! Yet, sometimes we patients end
up being referred to the wrong
specialist to diagnose our medical
problems. How can you be sure you're
seeing the right specialist?
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When
Your Symptoms Won't Go Away
You've done everything
right - talked to your doctor,
reviewed your drug prescription,
even learned more about your
diagnosis online - but - your
treatment doesn't seem to be
working. Frustrating! You just
aren't getting better. So what are
you supposed to do now? Here's one
approach.
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July - a Potentially
Dangerous Time for
Healthcare
July - the perfect storm
of reasons why you may
not be able to get the
healthcare you deserve,
especially in the
hospital. From newbie
doctors to vacationing
regulars, studies show
the numbers of drug
errors in certain kinds
of hospitals go up this
time of year. My own
misdiagnosis happened
because it was July. I
say - Beware! |
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TOP OF
PAGE |
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Using
the
Internet
for
Health-Related
Research |
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Ads for Prescription Drugs Are A Place to
Start
Don't let those drug
companies manipulate you |
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Are you a
Cyberchondriac?
Self-diagnosing by using the internet can
interfere with good medical outcomes. |
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Getting
the
Support
You Need
Sometimes
medical
professionals
can't
answer
all your
questions.
When
that
happens,
turn to
other
patients
for
support.
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Use
the
Internet
Wisely
to Find
Reliable
Health
Information
(part I)
Learn
about
Health
on the
Net
(HON)
and how
it can
help
you. |
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Use
the
Internet
Wisely
to Find
Reliable
Health
Information
(Part
II)
Medical
Journals
can be
an
excellent
source
of
health
information.
Here are
some
things
you need
to know
about
them. |
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Use the
Internet Wisely to Find Reliable Health
Information (Part III)
There is plenty of good information about
doctors online. But there is also
information that is incorrect or not
objective. Learn how to find the information
that is useful. |
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Use Blogs and
Wikis to Find Further Medical Information
(Part
IV)
Blogs and Wikis may offer you unique
ideas and teach you things your doctor
didn't (or won't!) tell you. Learn what
they are, and how to use them to your
benefit. |
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Online
Medical Information Can't Always be Trusted
(Part V)
Sometimes information isn't helpful at all.
In fact, it may be wrong and dangerous.
Assess the information using some of these
tips to be sure it can be helpful to you. |
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Glen's
Decision,
Revisited
The last
in the
series
about
Glen,
who
chose an
alternative
treatment
for a
brain
tumor
but had
to take
a second
look at
his
choice. |
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Other Patients May Lend
a Hand
When you need to learn
more about your
diagnosis and treatment
options, an Internet
search may turn up
information provided by
other patients. How
credible is it? Can it
be useful to you? |
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Avoiding Misinformation
Online
The Internet is now the
number one resource for
80 perent of us when we
seek health
information.
Unfortunately, it's also
the location of way too
much misinformation,
disinformation - even
snake oil. How can you
tell which information
is useful to you, and
which information is
intended only to
separate you from your
hard-earned money?
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Find Support from Other
Patients
While your doctor may be
your best resource for
medical information and
conversations, other
patients with your same
diagnosis can be
immensely helpful when
it comes to sharing real
experiences with tests,
treatments and other
aspects of living with
your diagnosis. |
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No material found in this
website
is to be reproduced without
expressed written consent of the
author. |
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Miscellaneous |
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Listen
to Your Inner Voice
Intuition?
Instinct? It's there to help! |
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Learn from the Headlines
It can be dangerous
to make treatment changes based on what you
hear or read in the media. Here is a
way to use that information to your benefit. |
|
|
|
Be Informed Before You Give Consent
When you visit
your doctor, you are asked to sign an
"informed consent" form. Read why you
need to make sure you really have been
informed, and you understand the information
you are given. |
|
|
|
|
Who's Who in Health Care? (part I)
There are so many
initials after the names of healthcare
providers. Here are the designations
given to doctors. |
|
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|
|
Who's Who in Health Care? (part
II)
More
designation translations for the alphabet
soup of health care providers. |
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Ask
Health Care Workers to Wash Their Hands
Hospital and exam room infection rates are
alarming, and many infections would never be
transmitted, if only doctors would wash
their hands. |
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Evolving Options
Integrative Medicine -- Alternative and
Complementary Therapies -- much to learn and
choices to make. |
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Be a Smart Health Insurance Consumer
How can you tell which health insurance plan
best meets your needs? A hint:
it's probably not the one that has the
lowest premiums! |
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What Kindergarten Teaches Us About Our
Healthcare
Just like Robert
Fulghum's bestseller of 20 years ago, some
of our best lessons in healthcare are the
basics we learned in school. |
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Those Amazing
Medical Diagnostic Machines
You've heard their names: X-Rays, MRIs,
UltraSound and others. What's are the
differences among them and what can doctors
learn from them? |
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Resolutions for Sharp Patients
Prepare yourself for 2007 with these easy,
but effective ideas for finding your best
medical outcome. |
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Making
Tough Treatment Decisions
Sometimes it's tough to make
decisions when our emotions get in the way
of our objectivity. Use this approach to
help you make the right decision for you. |
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Take a Look at Clinical Trials
You can help yourself, and other
patients who will someday be diagnosed with
your same medical problem, by participating
in clinical trials. |
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Prevention: Stay
Healthy and Save Money, Too
Better to proactively prevent medical
problems by living healthy than to need to
pay for the reactive side of medical care,
both in time and money. |
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The Concept of
Medical Home
Patients are often frustrated by a lack of
coordination of their healthcare. The
concept of "medical home" was developed to
support that idea of coordination -- but
that theory doesn't turn out to be too
successful in actual practice. |
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East,
West and
Wellness
(Complementary
and
Alternative
Medicine)
Parts 1,
2 and 3
We
patients
in the
Western
world
are
beginning
to learn
about
and
embrace
Eastern
medicine,
from
herbal
supplements
to
acupuncture
and
yoga.
But what
about
our
doctors?
How can
we make
our
choices
and be
honest
with
them,
too? And
how do
we
discuss
the
topic of
alternative
and
complementary
therapies
with our
doctors? |
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Stomach
Bugs,
Prostatectomy
and
Managing
Expectations
Sometimes
our
expectations
about
our
health
problems
or
recovery
are less
about
reality
and more
about
our
assumptions.
We
patients
need to
learn to
manage
our own
expectations
to make
our best
choices. |
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Learn to Ignore Those
Celebrity Drug
Endorsements
Sally Field did a fine
job playing Gidget on TV
and Norma Rae in
the movies, but why does
anyone believe what she
has to say about
prescription
osteoporosis drugs? |
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Should
We Be
Afraid
of Swine
Flu?
Public
health
emergencies,
pigs and
pandemics.
As
incidents
of swine
flu pop
up
across
the
globe,
it
instills
a
certain
fear -
are we,
or
someone
we love,
at risk
for
catching
swine
flu?
Should
we be
afraid
of swine
flu? |
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Some Steps Forward,
Too Many Steps Back - A
Patient's Decade in
Review
Between 2000 and 2009,
patients found a mixed
bag of both positive and
negative progress. The
possibilities for
improved care may exist,
but fewer and fewer of
us are reaping the
benefits.
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New
Year's Resolutions for
Smart Patients
Smart patients realize
that not all resolutions
have to be painful to be
successful. Here are a
handful that will
improve your health, but
don't require a gym
membership or giving up
your favorite foods. |
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A Year of Swine Flu -
What Have We Learned?
Was H1N1 all we had
feared? Or did Chicken
Little rush in to tell
us the sky was falling?
Or did we really learn
some good lessons from
our year of swine flu
and planning for a
pandemic? |
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Medical Identity Theft -
When Identity Theft
Becomes Dangerous
Having your financial
information stolen is
costly and a major
headache to clear up.
But having your medical
identity stolen can be
life threatening. Learn
about medical identity
theft and how you can
prevent it from
happening to you. |
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Get Smart!(phones) to
Improve Your Health
A smartphone, like an
iPhone, Blackberry,
Android, Palm or others,
can help you get
healthier through the
use of hundreds of
health-related apps.
Learn what apps are, how
they can be useful, and
the ways you might
improve your health by
using them. |
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Prepping Our Children
for Back to School - to
Keep Our Families
Healthy, Too
From whooping cough
boosters, to coughing
into elbows,
back-to-school time
reminds us that germs
pass quickly, and the
whole family can be a
risk. Here are some
steps to take to keep
everyone healthier. |
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Trust Your Gut to Make
Medical Decisions
That nagging voice
inside your head can
provide you with some
important information.
Learn why trusting your
intuition can be
helpful, and how to use
it to make medical
decisions. |
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Medical News Requires
Getting Past the
Headlines
Those headlines grab our
attention. "Berries
ward off Parkinson's
Disease" and "Musical
exercise program cuts
falls for the elderly"
But when you read the
rest of the story, you
realize how deceptive
those headlines are.
Here's how to figure out
what you can, and can't
believe from those
headlines. |
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Healthy
Travel
Tips
Travel
takes
you out
of your
normal
environment
and
disturbs
your
routine.
If you
have
health
issues,
like a
chronic
disease,
an
injury,
or even
a
short-term
illness,
it’s
smart to
prepare
ahead of
time for
those
changes
and
accommodate
for them
where
possible.
You’ll
want to
be sure
your
travel
doesn’t
upset
your
health,
and your
health
doesn’t
upset
your
travel. |
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Check
Out
Those
Charities
Before
You
Donate
It's
that
time of
year
when
every
charitable
organization
asks us
to
donate
money.
And we
do! But
how
often do
you
check to
make
sure
that
your
money is
going to
an
organization
that
will
spend it
the way
you
hope? It
turns
out that
some of
the most
well-known
charities
may be
making
choices
you
don't
agree
with,
including
spending
too much
of their
money on
administrative
costs,
and too
little
on
education
or
research
or a
cure.
Here's
some
advice
for
learning
more
about
those
charities
before
you send
them
your
money. |
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The
Ultimate
Gift -
Organ
Donation
It's
always a
good
reminder
that at
the end
of our
lives,
whether
through
natural
causes
or a
terrible
accident,
we can
donate
our
tissues
and
organs
to help
someone
else.
You may
think
you
can't
donate;
if so,
you are
probably
wrong!
Learn
more
about
the
benefits
of organ
donation
and how
to make
sure
your
loved
ones
know you
are
willing
to
contribute. |
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10
Patient
Empowerment
Tips to
Post on
Your
Refrigerator
Door
The
refrigerator
door -
in our
home,
perhaps
like
yours,
it's a
center
of
information,
souvenirs
and
kids'
artwork...
So it
seems
like a
great
place to
hang
reminders
of the
many
ways we
can be
smart
patients!
Plus,
I've
created
a fun,
but
informative
poster
from the
10 tips,
too -
which
you can
download
for
free.
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Healthcare
Costs
and
Consumerism |
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Double Check Your
Doctor Bills
Eight out of 10 medical bills has an error,
yet we patients rarely double check to be
sure we aren't being billed for services we
didn't receive. Here is an easy way to
be sure you aren't the victim of overbilling. |
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Be a Smart Health
Insurance Consumer
How can you tell which health insurance plan
best meets your needs? (A hint:
It's probably not the one that has the
lowest premiums!) |
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Prevention:
Stay
Healthy
and Save
Money,
Too
Better
to
proactively
prevent
medical
problems
by
living
healthy
than to
need to
pay for
the
reactive
side of
medical
care,
both in
time and
money.
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Let the
State
Help You
Dispute
an
Insurance
Claim
When
you've
exhausted
your
possibilities
for
getting
your
claim
paid by
your
insurance
company,
then ask
the
state
insurance
department
to lend
an
assist.
Here's
how. |
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Have You
Been
Overcharged
for Your
Healthcare?
Balance
billing
is a
practice
that may
result
in
exorbitant
charges
if you
see a
doctor
or use a
testing
lab or
other
facility
that has
no
agreement
with
your
insurance
company.
Learn
how to
take
control
of those
expenses. |
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When Patients Should
Think Like Consumers
From cereal boxes to
cans of vegetables,
consumer products seem
to be shrinking. Have
you counted the pills in
your prescription bottle
lately? |
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Finding
Help for
Your
Healthcare
System
Complaints
Each
state
provides
different
resources
and
complaint
processes
for
getting
help and
answers
to
problems
with
your
care.
From
complaints
about
doctors,
to too
little
insurance
reimbursement
or
denials
of care,
you'll
want to
know how
to get
your
complaints
resolved. |
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Medicare
Open
Enrollment
– Time
to
Figure
It Out
Medicare
Open
Enrollment,
when
it's
time to
choose
the
right
Medicare
plan,
can be
frustrating
and
overwhelming.
Medicare
patients
are
faced
with so
many
choices
that
it's
easy to
become
confused.
Here are
some
excellent
resources
to
support
Medicare
decision-making,
saving
headaches,
and
money,
too. |
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Can You
Really
Save
Money
With a
High
Deductible
Health
Insurance
Plan?
With
their
much
lower
premiums,
high
deductible
health
insurance
plans,
also
called
"catastrophic"
plans
are so
tempting!
For some
families
they are
a great
choice,
but for
others,
they end
up being
"catastropic"
for all
the
wrong
reasons.
With
Open
Enrollment
time
here,
it's
your
opportunity
to spend
some
time
making
the
right
decisions
for your
family.
Learn
more
about
your
options,
and make
the
right
choice
for your
health
and your
wallet. |
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Healthcare
Reform |
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The Truth About
Senior Death Warrants
(August 2009)
Arguments about
healthcare reform are
inflamed by those who
put information in the
public domain that is
not true, striking fear,
anger and confusion into
the hearts of American
citizens. Learn about
one such effort to make
you believe fictional
information, and what
you can do to make sure
you aren't spreading
lies, too. |
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Why Healthcare Reform
Is Important to You
No matter how
good your health insurance may be, the 47
million uninsured Americans are costing you
money out of your pocket, through both your
taxes and your premiums. Learn how
that happens, and find resources for
learning more. |
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Co-ops, Exchanges and
the Public Option - Oh
My!
(September 2009)
This healthcare reform
debate has gotten so
complex, that it’s easy
to be confused by the
terminology. Here are
brief explanations of
some of the concepts
being discussed.
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Is
Healthcare a Victim of
Its Own Success?
(January 2010)
Sometimes when we get
the most frustrated at
the cost of healthcare,
it helps to remember the
ways it has improved our
lives. Yes, it's a
different perspective. |
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How an Empowered Patient
Looks at Healthcare
Reform
(March 30, 2010)
Passage of healthcare
reform in the United
States is more about
money than quality of
care. Confusion and
frustration will lead to
quality of care problems
that we may be able to
forestall by taking
steps today. Here's
what you need to know to
make sure you get the
medical care you
deserve. |
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Affordable Care May Mean
Impossible Care
(September 2010)
The Young Adult
provision of the new
Affordable Care Act will
kick in soon. Whether or
not you have a young
person in your life who
can take advantage of
it, their new-found
access will get in your
way. Learn more about
how this provision will
affect you and what you
can do about it. |
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The 2012
Elections
and the
Issue of
Healthcare
Reform
(January
2012)
As the
national
political
season continues to ramp up, and candidates continue to dog on the Affordable
Care
Act,
there
are
bound to
be
dozens
of
emails
making
the
rounds
that
tell us
how
dangerous
it is.
Here are
some
tips for
figuring
out
whether
their
claims
are
accurate, or
whether
someone
is
trying
to make
a fool
of you. |
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