Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Prevent wrong side surgery

Wrong-sided surgery happens more often than you think. Here is an article published by the New York Times this week and please take a moment to read the following tips in case you have a surgical procedure in the near future.

  1. You and your surgeon should agree on exactly what will be done during the operation.
  2. Ask to have the surgical site marked with a permanent marker and to be involved in marking the site. This means that the site cannot be easily overlooked or confused (for example, surgery on the right knee instead of the left knee).
  3. Ask questions. You should speak up if you have concerns. It's okay to ask questions and expect answers that you understand.
  4. Think of yourself as an active participant in the safety and quality of your health care. Studies show that patients who are actively involved in making decisions about their care are more likely to have good outcomes.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Monday, November 26, 2007

Worthless blogs

Aside from the different currencies that blogs may provide (information, happiness, comfort, etc), there is now an application that puts a price-tag on blogs. This application is based on the hypothesis that traffic is not a good measure of what blogs are but that conversation, as represented by links and indexes like Technorati, represent a more accurate view of the value of a blog. By using the application to estimate value, this blog, Im-Patient, is worth $0.00. But its lack of monetary value may incline people to believe that 'just because' this blog isn't worth anything, it is not worth at all.

What is your perspective on this issue? Is this blog of value to you?


Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Know when it's time to fire your doctor

Know when it's time to fire your doctor

From Dr. Jerome Groopman, based on "How Doctors Think"

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

If your expectations are low enough, you'll never be disappointed in your health care team...

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Purpose? Objective of this blog?

So, what is the purpose or objective of this blog?

Books on Doctors as Patients and a few on the Doctor-Patient Relationship