In case you, your loved one, or your entire patient-family have been harmed, shocked, or merely flummoxed as a result of your interaction with or immersion into the medical system; if you’re wondering if you’re nuts, or how crazy you might be; if you’re doubting yourself and your perceptions, or the meaning you make of […]
Now that the United States is in round 2 of “death panels” (the first occurred in 2009), I want to offer a hearty “thank you!” to those who’ve promulgated the phrase, misbegotten as you are. You’ve gotten the populace talking. At long last, we’re talking about how we might die. The national conversation has begun, and […]
Elder tip: if you’re a married elder couple, compare your medical calendars. You may be surprised at what you learn… My mom predeceased my dad by 15 months. That she died first surprised us all; Dad was the one with the history and list of serious conditions (degenerative heart disease resulting in two double bypasses […]
It’s back: that scary phrase, that bald lie: “death panel.” As in, “the United States government will enact or enable panels of bureaucrats who will withhold medical treatment from your grandma or grandpa and let them instead die.” This was a (failed) provision of 2010’s healthcare reform act; now the accusers say that death panels […]
When I published Notes from the Waiting Room: Managing a Loved One’s End of Life Hospitalization in 2008 I included a chapter with proposals for medical system reform. Among them was something I called Communication Algorithms: Physician-scientists are trained in and use “decision trees” to arrive at diagnoses. The series of if/else questions is referred […]
I’m attending my first IHI/Institute for Healthcare Improvement conference. Along with 49 other “patient activists” I’ve been invited to attend as a guest of IHI in its inaugural outreach to citizens who have felt compelled to act to help all of us overcome medical error, safety lapses, and provider-centered treatment (distinct from patient-centered care). In […]
I’m driving through Wyoming, and the trip has gotten weird. Four months ago my soon-to-be 21-year-old daughter’s cute-Ute second-generation Rav4 got rear-ended and totaled on I-70 west of Denver. Now I’m headed back to Colorado’s Front Range, this time in a larger, third-gen Rav4. The market’s better for buyers in the Salt Lake corridor, Utah’s […]
In yesterday afternoon’s HARO (www.HelpAReporterOut) list I learned of Susanna Speier’s Huffington Post column, Politiku. Politikus are hiku’s (3-line Japanese poems or stanzas with a 5-syllable, 7-syllable, 5-syllable structure) focusing on all things political. Speier put out a HARO call for health care reform politikus. Right up my alley (I write poetry in addition to […]
Coupla nights ago I attended an evening hosted by the Boulder-based Men’s Leadership Alliance at the Boulder Shambala Center. Topic: dying and death. Attended by a mixed-gender group comprised of 20-somethings to 70-somethings. This was an interesting mix of people! I was curious as to what might transpire (I’m familiar with, tho not schooled in, […]
Some years ago I went to a concert by legendary Grammy award-winning jazz vocalist Bobby McFerrin. I had an aisle seat near the stage. Two-thirds through the show Bobby came down into the hall with his wireless mic, approached an audience member, and engaged in an improvisational duet, leading his mate in vocalizing whatever riff […]
