Some physicians have the mistaken impression that being "patient-centered" is synonymous with giving patients whatever they want whether they need it or not. If the patient wants an MRI they get one. If they want a new drug they saw advertised on TV, their doctor...
People always ask me how I got started with my work in physician-patient communications. Like so many people, I had a story that I felt needed to be told. Much of my inspiration over the course of the last five years of writing Mind the Gap have come from my wife...
I recently came across an interview with Stephen Beck, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO) at Catholic Health Partners. Dr. Beck was being interviewed on the subject of patient portals and patient engagement. Here’s a quote from that interview. “While we have...
Did you know that on a typical day in the office seeing patients, the average physician misses hundreds of opportunities to engage, activate patients and excite their patients? Why? It's not because they are too busy. Research shows it is because physicians don't have...
Yet another in a seemingly endless series of articles blaming patients for all that’s wrong in health care is running in Modern Healthcare. The 3-part series entitled Channeling Choice looks at how patients (people like you and I) just aren’t making the kinds of...
There has been lots of talk about Health IT's "central role" in getting patients more engaged in their own health care. The National eHealth Collaborative, now a part of HIMSS, even went so far as to propose a patient engagement framework built entirely around...
I can’t think of any strategic initiative in recent time with more potential to engage and active patients, improve patient health outcomes and enhance patient experiences than the call by the Institute of Medicine in Crossing the Quality Chasm for providers to become...
Have you noticed all the articles in the health care press lately touting health information technologies’ ability to increase patient medication adherence? Smart phone-based apps, Smart pill bottles and Patient Portals are all about trying to get patients to do...