Adjusting to new chronic illness
Adjusting to new chronic illness involves moving away from traditional medical/doctors/health care system to controlling controllable stress and recalibrating function. “Eventually, you adjust to a...
View ArticleWhat is Health Data? An Introduction for Anyone
I took a week off. I unplugged to attend the memorial service for my mom. Thanks to readers who inquired about my absence, worried if I was OK. I’m OK. This is the second in a series of posts about...
View ArticleWhat Data Isn’t. It’s not hope. It’s not getting better or worse.
Data is not health and wellbeing. It’s not getting better or worse. It’s not hope. It’s not trust. It’s not kindness. It’s not community. It’s not peace. It’s not …… Data is at least once removed....
View ArticleCaregiver recovery – spiritual, then mental, then physical
I took advantage of some rest and relaxation this weekend at Kripalu Meditation and Yoga Center. After six months of intense caregiving of my mom with frequent bi-coastal travel, I’m feeling an upsurge...
View ArticleGrief Subsides, Inch by Inch
I’m reading Scott Simon’s book, Unforgettable. A son, a mother, lessons of a lifetime. Beautifully written and so close to home. Scott Simon’s book resonates for me. It’s been four months since my mom...
View ArticleThe procedure wasn’t successful, but the experience was
I went to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston Friday for an outpatient invasive procedure. Pretty amazing. A well oiled production, well-informed, with amazing service. Upon arrival my wife...
View ArticleManaging Uncertainty – A Magic Lever for Best Health
People at the center of care (individuals, caregivers, family networks, and healthcare professionals) crave knowledge to make sense of and make decisions about their health journey. We need information...
View ArticleUncertainty and Comparative Effectiveness Research
Last week’s post began a discussion of managing uncertainty in the health journey. That journey has many decision points. We can make some of those decisions ourselves and we can rely on others to...
View ArticlePausing – A Magic Lever of Best Health
Yesterday, my wife took me to Boston Improv for my birthday. My daughter-in-law took me out for lunch. This week I found myself spacing out several times at my desk. I listened to the rhythms of...
View ArticlePush, push
My wife waits to tell me about something she wants us to do or buy, because I’ll just do it or buy it. Bam, bam. I’m a doer. Push, push. About 20 years ago I realized that the biggest stress for my...
View ArticleThe jumble of research
Next week, I’ll be attending PCORI’s (Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute) Communication and Dissemination Advisory Team meeting in DC. Research is ink on paper until people at the center and...
View ArticleAnother threshold
My long-time friend, Glen, died last week. The first thing Glen and I did together in Detroit, 1969 was to go into elevators and face the back to freak people out and then we got stoned. Glen helped...
View ArticleI thank you God for this most amazing day
I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. e.e. cummings An...
View ArticleWhat’s the Problem with the Experience of People at the Center of Care?
Wearing my many hats: e-patient, caregiver, nurse, informaticist, and leader, I am blessed with mostly positive experiences on my health journey. At worst, my experiences are seriously annoying. This...
View ArticleImproving experience – decoupling a moving train?
I’m puzzled when people rate highly (very satisfied or satisfied) their experience in clinics and hospitals while still complaining about the experience. What is in the overall rating (would...
View ArticleAmateurs Among Professionals
I play in an amateur blues funk combo. Yesterday we had a gig at a local Jazz club. Hear it here. We played in a lineup of 9 amateur community bands, each led by a professional musician. An...
View ArticleMedical Residents and Safety
Listening to an article on Morning Edition this week, Is It Safe for Medical Residents to Work 30-Hour Shifts? A study has begun randomly putting some residents in 30 hour shifts and others in 16 hour...
View ArticlePatient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM)
When I first heard about Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) I thought they were talking about pulse, blood pressure, weight, pain, anxiety. I didn’t start exploring further until 2012 when I was...
View ArticleLast Post, New Year
Last post of 2015. Reviewing the year in 51 blog posts, we discussed: Death and Dying Give Me My Dam Data Values Leadership Work/Life balance Grace Ignorance, Uncertainty, Research Music Caregivers...
View ArticlePresidential Candidates on #Healthcare?
How do I research presidential candidate views on healthcare? What if I google each candidate’s web site? Donald Trump has a Positions page on reforming the VA Medical System. Much hyperbole, but he...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....