. Compassion & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee made a comment during an end-of-life (EOL) panel discussion that resonated fully: to help more people die in peace we need to “redefine the standard of care at end of life.” Think about this. Redefine the standard of care at end of life. This compact statement is […]
Every Patient Matters, an IHI Patient Activist member on Facebook, writes: Imagine a hospital where a patient who says they feel unsafe is asked, what’s wrong? What can we do to make you safer? Rather than being flagged as difficult. So many times, it’s the hospital that is wrong. I don’t care if you think […]
Compassion is a core aspect of care. Without it we simply get bodily repair services (I’ve said this before but it needs repeating). In fact, New Zealand Dr. Robin Youngon’s Compassion in Healthcare is devoted to compassion. Here’s another tie-in: an old friend and colleague of mine, Paul Shippee of Crestone, Colorado, teaches non-violent communication […]
Since words matter, and based on some up-to-the-minute chatter on the IHI Patient Activists Facebook page, we know that getting provider visitors to the bedside in hospitals to disinfect their hands is an ongoing challenge. One very experienced patient advocate, in for surgery herself, was snidely rebuked when she requested that the a visiting doctor […]
Tell you true, I’m not into the Super Bowl. But I am into analogy, and Bill Thatcher of Cautious Patient Foundation has come up with a doozy. It’s said that the new Dallas stadium where Super Bowl 2011 will be played seats 108,000. Medical data has shown that that’s roughly the number of people who […]
Every now and then I post a blog on another site that’s relevant to patient safety and end of life matters this site’s devoted to. Such is the case with ‘Challenging Topics, Humanely’ at About55.com. Enjoy. Plus, it’s an interesting new community for midlifers.
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 […]
