Author: Carolyn Thomas

Self-tracking device? Got it. Tried it. Ditched it.

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 22 Comments

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by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

It took a while to improve upon the humble pedometer. This wearable device, typically attached on or near one’s waist, has been tracking how many steps and how much distance we travel each day ever since its invention by Abraham-Louis Perrelet back in 1780.

But with the explosion of wearable digital activity trackers on the market, I’m now waiting for the randomized control trial that compares those fancy-schmancy new devices head to head with that simple old-fashioned pedometer. In other words:

Q:  Just because you make it digital, does it make it better? 
Continue reading “Self-tracking device? Got it. Tried it. Ditched it.” →

Hysterical female? Just anxious? Or heart attack?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 24 Comments

woman_depression

A guest post written by Patti Digh, social activist, heart attack survivor, and the author of eight books including her best seller Life is a Verb: 37 Days To Wake Up, Be Mindful, And Live Intentionally.  This essay originally ran on her blog 37 Days in January 2016.

♥

“   He’s working with a med student shadowing him today. Do you mind being seen by her first?”

In the spirit of education, I said, “No, of course not.”

She had long strawberry blond hair and big glasses. We talked. “What brought you here today?” she asked. Continue reading “Hysterical female? Just anxious? Or heart attack?” →

Designing with the patient in mind

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 16 Comments

Mobile app for health

This guest post by Irish blogger, speaker, patient and healthcare social media maven Marie Ennis O’Connor was originally published January 26, 2016 by Patient Empowerment Network, and reprinted here with Marie’s kind permission.

Designing with the patient in mind: Incorporating patient values, preferences and needs into digital health interventions.

“We are stuck with technology, when what we really want is just stuff that works.”

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy

A new report by Accenture reveals that just two percent of patients at hospitals are using the health apps provided for them. The research, which assessed mobile app use among the 100 largest U.S. hospitals, found that 66 percent of the hospitals have mobile apps for consumers and 38 percent of that subset have developed proprietary apps for their patients.

However, a mere two percent of patients at those hospitals are using the apps provided to them. This staggeringly low figure represents an alarming waste of resources in the healthcare industry.
 Continue reading “Designing with the patient in mind” →

Two ways to portray heart failure. One of them works.

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 39 Comments
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  EXAMPLE #1: Sisters and heart failure patients Shaun Rivers (left) and Kimberly Ketter

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥   @HeartSisters

If you were suddenly diagnosed with heart failure, you would first of all be utterly horrified by hearing those words “heart failure” – which brings me to the eternal question: when are cardiologists going to come up with a better name for this common condition in which a person’s heart has trouble pumping blood as well as it should? (See also: “When Doctors Use Words That Hurt“)

I hope that the second thing that happens after you hear those dreadful words is that somebody will immediately show you this beautiful photo (above) of twin sisters Shaun Rivers and Kim Ketter, both nurses from Richmond, Virginia.  They were each diagnosed with heart failure during the same week in 2009 when the twins were just 40 years of age.  

Now compare the twins’ photo (and its accompanying text from the American Heart Association) with something that I hope you will never, ever see upon hearing that frightening diagnosis:
 Continue reading “Two ways to portray heart failure. One of them works.” →