If you’re looking for the front door of a hospital and assume it’s under the grand awning, straddled by ornate Corinthian columns and under a brightly lit sign reading “St. Elsewhere,” you’d be wrong. Most hospital administrators might not like to admit it, but the front door is really through the emergency room. By far, […]
Continue reading
Tag Archives: patient
EMR and the Falling Patient
January 19, 2011 
2 Comments
Is Mom at risk of falling? Electronic medical records (EMR) efficiently capture physician’s keystrokes—yes or no—to this question and tuck it along side other data about our so–called medical lives. The physician’s judgment has to take into account many factors: is the patient elderly and ‘frail,’ do they have an orthopedic or neurological problem causing […]
Continue readingHow the Grinch Stole Medicine
December 22, 2010 0 Comments
When I was young, I often heard my elders say, ‘there ain’t no free lunch.’ It wasn’t until becoming a medical intern and resident that I discovered not only are some lunches free, but also dinners, books, bags, shirts and even trips to wonderful resorts and hotels. That is if you didn’t mind having them […]
Continue readingPainful Progress
December 19, 2010 1 Comment
The problem with pain is that it is what we say it is. One patient may rate their pain a 10 (on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the absolute worse), while a similar patient with similar pain may rate theirs as a two. And there is no objective way to tell […]
Continue readingShare and Share Alike
December 15, 2010 1 Comment
She looked at me through red-rimmed eyes. Whether from lack of sleep, or from constantly rubbing her frontal sinuses, her eyes were a giveaway that she was ill. “My ears are full, my sinuses are clogged,” she began, “my throat is raw and I can’t stop coughing and this (as she pointed to her head) […]
Continue readingCosts of Care
December 12, 2010 0 Comments
“What am I going to do now Doc?” asked Mike, a down on his luck, 29 year–old recently unemployed truck driver, as he handed me his hospital bill. Mike was seen at our local emergency department on a Friday evening with complaints of indigestion. Earlier that day he and his wife Susan celebrated their second […]
Continue readingWhen I’m 64
December 5, 2010 0 Comments
“Will you still see me next year?” Her question threw me, as I thought the visit had gone well. She’s been my patient for the past four years. She originally came to me when her earlier physician decided to join a concierge practice. His new medical practice doesn’t take insurance and patients pay cash if they […]
Continue readingOn This Eve of Giving Thanks
November 24, 2010 0 Comments
We’re living in thoughtful times. Everyday in healthcare I am humbled by the care, compassion and thoughtfulness exhibited by the staff at our hospitals and clinics. They don’t show this because it’s prescribed in a handbook, or policy and procedure. They’re not after a high rating on the next patient care survey. They don’t need […]
Continue readingA Tip of Our CAHPS to Coming Clean in America
November 10, 2010 0 Comments
Are hospitals coming clean? An article just published in Health Affairs reveals details of a government–required survey conducted in 2008 and 2009. The Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey or CAHPS (thank goodness for acronyms!) is required of all hospitals receiving and hoping to continue to receive federal funding. Analysts compared CAHPS […]
Continue readingPatient Heal Thyself
October 27, 2010 1 Comment
It must be Kismet. A patient, who I hadn’t seen for over a year, returned for evaluation after developing a medical complication. Three weeks before, he entered a private specialty hospital for a total knee replacement. After suffering with arthritis in his knee for over five years he stated that, “Enough was enough.” He went […]
Continue reading
Knowmoremed's Blog 