They're Here
It usually begins this time of year. They come. They come without me inviting them to my life. They come like perfectly timed bombs. They come to remind me. They come to be remembered. They... [[ This...
View ArticleWho will do well, who will not?
If I had a crystal ball, and could decide who would do well in self managing their pain, and who would not, what would I do? A holy grail for insurance companies and health economists and yes,...
View ArticleThe Statement of Financial Entitlements (Amendment) Directions 2010
Title: The Statement of Financial Entitlements (Amendment) Directions 2010 Skinny: Latest in a series of changes made to the Statement of Financial Entitlements published in April 2005. Their primary...
View ArticlePrimary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (England) Directions 2010
Title: Primary Medical Services (Directed Enhanced Services) (England) Directions 2010 Skinny: Directions replacing the 2008 DES Directions and the associated 2009 DES amending directions. Their...
View ArticleHealth and social outcomes and health service experiences of UK military...
This report reviewed the available evidence on the health and social outcomes, and the health experiences, of former members of the Armed Forces. Key findings included that, whilst in general the...
View ArticleSaving Primary Care: What Will It Take?
“Bold changes are needed in how the United States delivers and pays for primary care if the key goals of national health reform are to be achieved,” according to the health policy journal Health...
View ArticleImproving oral health and dental outcomes: developing the dental public...
Title: Improving oral health and dental outcomes: developing the dental public health workforce in England Skinny: Report giving guidance on developing the dental public health workforce to enable PCTs...
View ArticleQuality in Primary Care 2010 Volume 18(2)
This article identifies the need to align it to the objective of reducing health inequalities. Additional research is needed to understand whether the QOF ensures that those who are the most difficult...
View ArticleHeart 2010 (Vol. 96 No. 12)
Heart 2010 (Vol. 96 No. 12) Contents page Fade Fave: Individualising the risks of statins in men and women in England and Wales: population-based cohort study Fade Skinny: Aims to derive and validate...
View ArticleQuality in Primary Care 2010 (Vol. 18 No. 3)
This article aims to assess whether there is any value or effect of patient care planning on the quality of home care. It concludes that care plans in home care lead to significant differences in...
View ArticleFor Quality Patient Care, Teamwork In Medicine Is Critical
From KevinMDâs medical blog, guest post by Toni Brayer, M.D., shares a story where a team approach in medicine is critical for quality patient care. Dr. Brayer writes: âMedicine is a team sport and...
View ArticleJournal of the American Medical Association 2010 (Vol. 304 No. 1)
This article systematically reviews the accuracy of brief instruments for identifying patients with limited literacy. The article concludes that several single-item questions, including use of a...
View ArticleHow Patients Can Enhance Communication With Their Doctors
From Kevin Phoâs medical blog, KevinMD, a post archived from 2004, Pho talks about the struggles of communication between doctor and patient during the 15-minute office visit. Pho sites a New YorkÂ...
View ArticleCureTogether Honored with Amgen/Ashoka Changemakers Award
We are so excited! CureTogether’s entry into the Ashoka Changemakers patient empowerment competition won the Early Entry Prize for best idea entered by the early deadline! From the competition website:...
View ArticleHeart Bypass Results Available Through Consumer Reports
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons has agreed to release the results of their national database of cardiac surgery outcomes to Consumer Reports to aid patients in selecting the best surgeons and...
View ArticleFiery Cushman at Harvard law School â Video
From The Harvard Law Record (Sept. 2009): On September 21st, Fiery Cushman, a newly-minted PhD recipient and post-doctoral fellow at Harvardâs Mind, Brain and Behavior Initiative, presented some of...
View ArticleWhen Patients And Doctors Disagree
A 69-year-old woman who swims in my master program came back to the pool after a total knee replacement. I asked her how she was doing. She said she is still in a lot of pain because of her physical...
View ArticleWhat matters to people with persistent pain?
I’ve read many written expectations of people coming for pain management – and without a doubt, the majority of people want to get on with life, go back to doing what they enjoy, and feel better in...
View ArticleNew Study Shows That Long Work Hours Contribute To Surgeon Burnout
A new study just out by Dr. Charles Balch of Johns Hopkins Hospital is suggesting (not surprisingly) that long work hours contribute to burnout on both a professional and personal level for many...
View ArticleBritish Journal of Healthcare Assistants 2010 (Vol.4 No.10)
Title: Cancer survivorship and the role of support workers Skinny: The National Cancer Survivorship Initiative (NCSI) in England aims to help people with cancer lead as healthy and active a life as...
View ArticleA Model Medical Community For The Nation?
In a high-profile paper in the September issue of Health Affairs, Thorson and coworkers showed that the care at St. Maryâs Hospital in Grand Junction, CO was superior to that of 20 other unnamed...
View ArticleHealthcare Decision Making And Don Berwickâs âLeaders With Plansâ
From a recent post of the Retired Doc’s Thoughts blog entitled “What Are the Plans Of Don Berwick’s ‘Leaders With Plans?’“: “I wonder which is worse: A medical leader recommending price controls out...
View ArticleValue of Healthcare IT
A 200-bed hospital can expect to spend anywhere from $2 to $8 million on healthcare IT over five years. So can we assume that the $8 million system is four times more effective that the $2 million...
View ArticleI'm a Preemie
"Meghan! Meghan! Earth to Meghan!" I said impatiently. "Hey Megsy Rose! Are you listening to me? Can you please get your pajamas on?" I sighed as more attempts at saying her name in different... [[...
View ArticleNursing Times 2010 (Vol. 107 No. 1)
Fade Fave: What is the effect of discharge planning? Fade Skinny: This Cochrane Review investigates whether discharge planning improved the use of acute care and patient outcomes. It also looked at...
View ArticleNew Study Shows Hospitals Who Spend More On Certain Diseases Have Better...
A new study just out lead by researcher Dr. John Romley is suggesting that hospitals who spend more money on certain sets of conditions like hip fractures and heart failure have better mortality...
View ArticleMeasuring The Patient Experience
There’s a growing recognition within the medical-industrial complex that the patient is a key element of the enterprise, and that patient satisfaction, patient experience, patient engagement, patient...
View ArticleNarrative Medicine: Healing Through Storytelling
More in the evolving meme of narrative medicine:Â Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (my alma mater) have found that for a select population of individuals, listening to...
View ArticlePatient Beliefs Can Alter Drug Effectiveness
What if patients believed a drug will not work? Or expected that a med will work? Can such notions actually have an affect on efficacy? Well, a new study suggests patient views can, indeed, alter...
View ArticleEMR And The Pathologist: A Winning Combo
A pathologist uses the EMR to find out just a little more about the patient whose cerebro-spinal fluid she has under her microscope — and changes her diagnosis: This patient had a diagnosis of plasma...
View ArticleWhy You Should Quit Smoking Before Surgery
Physicians and surgeons all agree on the link between smoking and postoperative complications. We donât agree (or know) how much time is required between cessation of smoking and surgery for...
View ArticleUnderstanding Research: An Interview with Mark Young
Mark Young specializes in helping individuals learn to understand scientific research. Â He has a degree in kinesiology with a minor in psychology from McMaster University in Canada, and he has...
View ArticleCardiologists Not Needed: A Nurse And A Computer Will Do
Wait⦠Before reading any further, I would like to issue a warning. If your ideas about healthcare delivery are of an older ilk; if you cling white-knuckled to past dogma, please stop reading now....
View ArticleWhither Comparative Effectiveness Research?
How soon might comparative effectiveness offer significant change? And which entities will guide these changes when they begin? Inside the nation’s capitol, CER has become something of a mantra among...
View ArticlePatient-Reported Outcomes On Internet Sites?
Can observational studies that rely on patient reports from an Internet site contribute meaningfully to product development and evaluation? A new study in Nature Biotechnology suggests this may be so....
View ArticleStop Watches May Be Better Than CT Scans At Predicting Heart Disease
It is hardly news to say that we need better means to predict who will die of heart disease. No matter how much you may hear about medical errors, hospital acquired infections, or even distracted...
View ArticlePfizer And A âClinical Trial In A Boxâ For Home Use
In a bid to broaden use of social media, Pfizer is planning to run what will be the first clinical trial to allow patients to participate from home by using computers and smartphones instead of...
View ArticleTreatment Success Depends Largely On Patient Participation
Ten days ago a post here mentioned the 14th ICSI / IHI Colloquium. I said the Society for Participatory Medicine was well represented, including: Jessie Gruman, four time cancer patient and founding...
View ArticleImpact of smokefree legislation: evidence review, March 2011
Scan or click to download Impact of smokefree legislation: evidence review, March 2011 Title: Impact of smokefree legislation: evidence review, March 2011 The Skinny: Report summarising the evidence...
View ArticlePiloting Payment by Results for Drugs Recovery â draft outcome definitions
Title: Piloting Payment by Results for Drugs Recovery â draft outcome definitions Scan or click to download 'Piloting Payment by Results for Drugs Recovery â draft outcome definitions' The Skinny:...
View ArticleManual for Cancer Services: Brain and CNS measures
Title: Manual for Cancer Services: Brain and CNS measures Scan or Click to download 'Manual for Cancer Services: Brain and CNS measures' The Skinny: Following a three month consultation period, the...
View ArticleNHS Outcomes Framework: Innovation in Outcomes competition
Scan or click to download 'NHS Outcomes Framework: Innovation in Outcomes competition' Title: NHS Outcomes Framework: Innovation in Outcomes competition The Skinny: Details of a competition the...
View ArticleNational Cancer Patientsâ Experience Survey programme 2011
Title: National Cancer Patientsâ Experience Survey programme 2011 Scan or click to download ‘National Cancer Patientsâ Experience Survey programme 2011 ‘ The Skinny: Dear Colleague letter that...
View ArticleSafe and sustainable: Review of Childrenâs Congenital Heart Services in...
Title: Safe and sustainable: Review of Children’s Congenital Heart Services in England Interim Health Impact Assessment Scan or click to download ‘Safe and sustainable: Safe and sustainable: Review of...
View ArticleSarcoma: Measures for the Manual for Cancer Services
Title: Sarcoma: Measures for the Manual for Cancer Services Scan or click to download ‘Sarcoma Measures for the Manual for Cancer Services’ The Skinny: Dear collegue letter announcing that Sarcoma...
View ArticleThe future of cancer networks: Policy recommendations as a result of a joint...
Title: The future of cancer networks: Policy recommendations as a result of a joint seminar held at the Kings Fund Scan or click to download ‘The future of cancer networks: Policy recommendations as a...
View ArticleHow-to Guide: Improving Transitions from the Hospital to a Skilled Nursing...
Scan or click to download 'How-to Guide: Improving Transitions from the Hospital to a Skilled Nursing Facility to Reduce Avoidable Rehospitalizations ' Title: How-to Guide: Improving Transitions from...
View ArticleHow-to Guide: Improving Transitions from the Hospital to Home Health Care to...
Scan or click to download 'How-to Guide: Improving Transitions from the Hospital to Home Health Care to Reduce Avoidable Rehospitalizations' Title: How-to Guide: Improving Transitions from the Hospital...
View ArticleHow-to Guide Improving Transitions from the Hospital to Post-Acute Care...
Scan or click to download 'How-to Guide Improving Transitions from the Hospital to Post-Acute Care Settings to Reduce Avoidable Rehospitalizations' Title: How-to Guide Improving Transitions from the...
View ArticleImplementation of Patient Safety Alerts
Scan or click to download 'Implementation of Patient Safety Alerts' Title: Implementation of Patient Safety Alerts The Skinny: Report from Action Against Medical Accidents into the implementation of...
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