- Health 2.0 Through the Eyes of a Diabetic – One Year Later – ReadWriteWeb – A patient talks about his diabetes and what he did or didn't use Health2.0-wise. Are there good tools to consolidate information that patients with diabetes need to manage their health? I am especially interested this as I am reading Amy Tenderich’s book right now. Is there a place that is set up to manage the main pieces of data as Amy describes? I need to finish the book and not offer solutions….I’m interested, though, at this point.
Archive for November, 2008
Health 2.0 Through the Eyes of a Diabetic – One Year Later – ReadWriteWeb
November 30th, 2008 | Popularity: 17% 2 commentsWalk and talk: the new meeting room | Teaching Expertise
November 30th, 2008 | Popularity: 12% 0 comments | Leave a reply- Walk and talk: the new meeting room | Teaching Expertise – "During a simple 10 minute walk, it is amazing how ideas can be generated, solutions explored and areas discussed openly, effectively and with a great use of time that invigorates the body and mind".
There are many benefits to taking short walks during the school day. In this article, Dawn Vernon goes beyond the coffee break and talks about advantages to conducting meet-ins on the move.
2 Minutes To Working Smarter – Walking Meetings
November 30th, 2008 | Popularity: 15% 2 comments- 2 Minutes To Working Smarter – Walking Meetings – Scared to leave the safety of your routine? Think again:
# Want an honest or a confidential conversation? A walking meeting gets you out of the earshot of co-workers or people sitting at the next table.
# Brainstorming ideas and solutions? It’s faster and easier when you are active.
# Are people reluctant to commit to coffee or lunch? Others seem to immediately recognize the value of a walk. It’s a fresh idea, it’s free, and there’s no awkwardness over the bill.
# Problems to resolve? Walking side-by-side is more collaborative in energy than sitting across from someone with a desk or table in between.
The Welch Way : About You: Being an extrovert in business
November 30th, 2008 | Popularity: 14% 1 comment- The Welch Way – The Welch Way : About You: Team Members – Provides an interesting insight on the challenges that introverts face. I hadn't seen it from this angle before. Jack and Suzy also come out as extroverts, which explains why I follow them as I do. The actual podcast is worth a listen, here.
Disruptive Women in Health Care » Blog Archive » Cancer Schmancer
November 30th, 2008 | Popularity: 14% 0 comments | Leave a reply- Disruptive Women in Health Care » Blog Archive » Cancer Schmancer – Quote: "Doctors are bludgeoned by big business health insurance companies to go the least expensive route of diagnostic testing. They are trained to think, “If you hear hooves galloping, don’t look for zebra because it’s probably a horse.” But if you happen to be a zebra, you’re in big trouble!" This is how doctors are taught to think, and if they don't have the tools / ability to listen to patients (time, technology, training), the likelihood that things appear to be horses increases.
Work- and dataflows for managing hypertension outside of the doctor’s office
November 29th, 2008 | Popularity: 19% 2 commentsI am still working with The California Healthcare Foundation to support consumer connectivity to their personal health information in California. As part of that work, I developed these work/dataflows for an organization that might transition the management of hypertension from an office-based approach (shown to be mostly ineffective) to a home-based approach, for which a significant body of evidence is accumulating for its effectiveness.
The problem this is working to solve is the one where a physician will say, “you should monitor your blood pressure at home,” (which many do today) but without any specifics. How often? What to do with the readings? How is the physician / care team involved in managing the data? These workflows seek to address that.
Reimbursement: There are already reimbursement considerations for home monitoring, approved by most health plans and Medicare. The problem with them is that they specify an outdated technology (so-called “Ambulatory monitoring,” much like a holter monitor) instead of modern, more cost-effective technology (digital home monitors). The good news is that the rationale for reimbursing has been worked out for this service, which could potentially benefit 1/3 of the United States population.
Questions? Comments? Feedback? Happy to hear them.
Photo Friday: Andrew Jackson and an Incredible month for Washington, DC
November 28th, 2008 | Popularity: 18% 1 comment
This week’s photograph (published a little later, to support Engage With Grace) was taken on Thanksgiving day, at President’s Park, in front of the Andrew Jackson statue. You can see preparations for the inauguration happening behind it, on Pennsylvania Avenue.
I believed that 2008 would be an incredible year for this city, and my prediction was accurate just in thinking about this past month.
I thought about whether posting the images below would dilute the message of my blog, but I think they do not. The interest in empowering patients in health care is not far removed from an interest in empowering all members of society to achieve their true potential. This is an interest shared by the best organizations in the world, including my employer, and this community is a wonderful place to witness that commitment, which I did this month.
2009 is looking to be another incredible year in our nation’s capital for health care, diversity, and our world’s economy. Come join us!
Engage with Grace
November 26th, 2008 | Popularity: 11% 1 commentI am posting what appears below at the request of Paul Levy & Matthew Holt, from the Running a Hospital and The Health Care Blog blogs. I like the idea that we include, in everything we do, a starting point for a conversation about our preferences as patients, regarding this or any other health issue. See what you think
We make choices throughout our lives – where we want to live, what types of activities will fill our days, with whom we spend our time. These choices are often a balance between our desires and our means, but at the end of the day, they are decisions made with intent. But when it comes to how we want to be treated at the end our lives, often we don’t express our intent or tell our loved ones about it.
This has real consequences. 73% of Americans would prefer to die at home, but up to 50% die in hospital. More than 80% of Californians say their loved ones “know exactly” or have a “good idea” of what their wishes would be if they were in a persistent coma, but only 50% say
they’ve talked to them about their preferences. But our end of life experiences are about a lot more than statistics. They’re about all of us.
So the first thing we need to do is start talking. Engage With Grace: The One Slide Project was designed with one simple goal: to help get the conversation about end of life experience started. The idea is simple: Create a tool to help get people talking. One Slide, with just five questions on it. Five questions designed to help get us talking with each other, with our loved ones, about our preferences.
And we’re asking people to share this One Slide – wherever and whenever they can.at a presentation, at dinner, at their book club. Just One Slide, just five questions. Lets start a global discussion that, until now, most of us haven’t had.Here is what we are asking you: Download The
One Slide and share it at any opportunity – with colleagues, family, friends. Think of the slide as currency and donate just two minutes whenever you can. Commit to being able to answer these five questions about end of life experience for yourself, and for your loved ones. Then commit to helping others do the same. Get this conversation started.
Let’s start a viral movement driven by the change we as individuals can effect…and the incredibly positive impact we could have collectively. Help ensure that all of us – and the people we care for -
can end our lives in the same purposeful way we live them. Just One Slide, just one goal. Think of the enormous difference we can make together.
(To learn more please go to www.engagewithgrace.org. This post was written by Alexandra Drane and the Engage With Grace team)
