Category: Health care

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” →

My open letter to “Patients Included” conferences

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 39 Comments

different red chair

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

Dear medical conference organizers,

Thank you so much for inviting me to participate in your conference later this year. It is a real honour to be asked to help represent the patient voice at your prestigious event. I know that inviting patients alongside your impressive international roster of well-respected physicians is new to you. So congratulations on your interest in the  increasingly important “Patients Included” movement sweeping through medical conferences. By the way, here are the five qualifications your event requires in order to meet those Patients Included criteria.

But as I once wrote to patient blogger (and conference speaker) Carly Medosch:

“I can no longer afford to be ‘honoured’ by any more medical conference invitations.”

Allow me to explain:
 Continue reading “My open letter to “Patients Included” conferences” →

When you fear being labelled a “difficult” patient

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 22 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

We arrive early for our doctor’s appointment. We wait patiently. We sit across from the doctor, and we nod and smile politely during our visit. We pick up the prescription for our meds and then we walk out the door to make room for the next patient waiting.

And sometimes we do this even when the discussion about our health care leaves us with unspoken concerns or unanswered questions. Most patients know what this feels like, so it’s reassuring to learn that academics are actually studying it: our fear of being labelled a “difficult patient”.
 Continue reading “When you fear being labelled a “difficult” patient” →