Community Circles: Transforming Care in Downeast Maine
By Holly Gartmayer-DeYoung, BSN, MBA Each morning, Eastport, Maine, is the first city in the United States to see the sunrise. Among the contiguous United States, Eastport has the deepest natural harbor (Fallows, 2014), one that buzzed with industry and prosperity during the 19th century and well into the 20th. The city’s fortunes have largely … Continued
Beyond Empowerment: Patients, Paradigms, and Social Movements
A conversation with “e-Patient Dave” deBronkart
By Susan Carr
Dave deBronkart, known on the Internet as e-Patient Dave, is one of the world’s best-known evangelists for the patient engagement movement. A 2007 survivor of stage IV kidney cancer, he discovered the movement in 2008 and started blogging about it as a hobby. In 2009, he moved his electronic hospital data to a personal health record, which triggered a series of events that landed him on the front page of The Boston Globe (Wangsness, 2009). Invitations to attend policy meetings in Washington and give speeches followed. An accomplished speaker in his professional life, he has now participated in 450 healthcare events in 15 countries. His 2011 TED Talk has been seen by almost a half million viewers online.
deBronkart is a child of the Sixties, which leads him to see the e-patient movement as a social revolution, parallel to civil rights and feminism. And as an MIT graduate, he also sees it as the natural evolution of a scientific field. The following is based on a conversation he had recently with Susan Carr, editor of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare.
‘Citizen Jury’ Recommends Ways to Improve Diagnosis
The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine (SIDM), the Jefferson Center, and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University are working with healthcare consumers to develop a list of the ways patients can reduce diagnostic error. The project is using a process developed by the Jefferson Center’s founder, Ned Crosby, PhD, … Continued
Readmissions Dip 47% When Some Patients Self-Administer IV Antibiotics
By: Alexandra Wilson Pecci, HealthLeaders Media Uninsured patients requiring prolonged courses of treatment with intravenous antibiotics can be trained to treat themselves at home and achieve outcomes comparable to patients who receive treatment in traditional settings, data shows. Teaching uninsured patients how to self-administer IV antibiotics for outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) has … Continued
Predictive Analytics, Home Health Monitoring Combine for Better Care
CareSage is a new predictive analytics engine from Royal Philips that enables health systems to better monitor and care for elderly patients by combining actionable insights with wearable devices and monitoring.
Better Patient Education for Improved Engagement and Compliance
Solid patient education strategies are foundational to improved compliance and success with national patient engagement initiatives. Numerous regulatory requirements—Meaningful Use, Value-Based Purchasing, and the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program—converge to advance the accountable care movement. To succeed in the risk-bearing reimbursement landscape, providers must ensure that patients understand and comply with their care plans.
Two Hip Replacement Surgeries: Lessons Learned about Patient Responsibility, Self-Advocacy, and Personal Health Information
It’s true. I’m much younger than the average age for hip replacement surgery. At 44, six years ago, an orthopedist replaced my left hip. Six months ago, a different orthopedist replaced my right hip. I guess you could say I’m “really hip.” To what, I am still trying to find out.
Leading Pharmacies and Retailers Join National Effort to Provide Patients with Easy Access to Personal Health Information
Today, as part of the growing movement to help customers access and securely share their own health information, several of the Nation’s largest retail pharmacy chains and associations are pledging to support the Blue Button initiative—a public-private partnership between the health care industry and the Federal Government that aims to empower all Americans with access to their own electronic health information.
OpenNotes Program Expands Access to Personal Health Information
I know I’m spoiled about access to personal health information. I get most of my medical care through Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, which offers PatientSite, a patient portal where I’ve been able to see my laboratory and imaging results, correspond with my doctor by email, manage my medications, request appointments, and so on for many years. (Developers and physicians Danny Sands and John Halamka describe the PatientSite project in a book chapter available online from the Commonwealth Fund.)
Learning from Patient Stories: New Resources for Crisis Management
Earlier this month, during Patient Safety Awareness Week, Jim Conway contributed new resources for improving the understanding of and response to serious clinical adverse events. Conway, a well-known champion of patients and families, former senior vice president at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and adjunct faculty at Harvard School of Public Health, appeared as a guest blogger on Health Care for All’s Healthy Blog. In his post, “Serious Clinical Adverse Events: Learning Through the Eyes of Patients and Family Members,” Conway recalls patient stories that have made a difference to him and others and introduces new sources he helped IHI add to its existing list available online at “Leadership Response to a Sentinel Event: Respectful, Effective Crisis Management.”