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September
2006 |
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Posted:
September 28, 2006
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Good
night's sleep last night -- after three
HIGHLY intense days of EPA work!
Yesterday was the day
everything was due. My next column for
the PS was delivered. Then we taped
this week's HealthLink on Air, to air
Sunday, October 1 (October!! how can it
already be October!!)
Then last night I
did the Finding Credible Medical
Information on the Web presentation --
well received. Good questions.
Good feedback. If you'd like to view
the presentation,
link here.
Catching up on a
dozen things that have gone lacking today...
and... I'm always looking for ideas for my
next column, so let me know if you have a
question I can answer :-) |
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Posted:
September 26, 2006
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Checked out this morning's Health and
Fitness section of the Post Standard and
found a mention in
Amber Smith's blog. (Thanks
Amber!) I'm
working on next week's column. There
are times when I sit down and begin to write
and the topic lends itself to an easy
column. Set the stage, provide the
background, give some advice, draw a
conclusion.
This one, though,
is a tough one! I'm writing about the
fact that there are so many kinds of doctors
and other health care providers - and all
those initials after their names are so
confusing! Plus, I'm limited to 400
words for the published columns. I
could write twice that many about just one
kind of doctor.
So -- I've decided
to write two columns, at least, to decipher
the alphabet soup of medical designations.
MD, DO, DC, RN, PA, NP, CNA, and that's just
the beginning.
If you want me to
let you know when these columns are online,
sign up for email notices.
OK -- back to the
keyboard. |
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Posted:
September 17, 2006
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I've
heard from a few of the people who attended
my recent workshop, Choosing Dr. Right.
Stories of frustration with the "system"
abound. A couple of things stand out:
For some reason,
patients seem to think they will upset their
doctors by deciding to seek a second
opinion. I've got two things to say
about that:
First -- any
doctor worth working with will NOT be upset
when you request a second opinion.
Good doctors will support your decision to
talk to someone else. Good doctors
fully expect that your second opinion will
duplicate their first ones!
Second -- you, as
a patient, can't afford for any doctor to be
wrong, so you need confirmation that the
doctor is right, especially if your
diagnosis is for something life long,
life-ending, or difficult to treat. At
the end of the day, it's not the doctor who
suffers if the doctor isn't right. So
you owe it to yourself to double check on
the accuracy of your diagnosis.
So do it!
Call a second doctor right now! Get
that extra opinion! |
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Posted:
September 14, 2006
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It's
been a crazy 24 hours!
Started the morning
taping my radio show -- so much interesting
information about a variety of medical
subjects. From prostate cancer and
robotic surgery, to the McMahon Ryan house
for abused children, to learning about
celiac disease, to the problems with taking
aspirin and ibuprofen at the same time
(don't do it! they cancel each other out!)
-- just a ton of info for this Sunday's
show.
Last night I spent
1+ hours presenting a session at the
Liverpool Library (Liverpool, near Syracuse,
NY) -- Choosing Dr. Right. The
presentation seemed to go well -- but the
best parts were the questions the attendees
asked. Excellent.
I'm beginning to
notice somewhat of a shift in attitude --
away from the "doctor as god" -- to the
"doctor as partner" --woo hoo! I love
it.
Starting to do
some intensive decision-making about
publishing my book... announcements soon, I
think! |
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Posted:
September 13, 2006
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Just
finished up my next column for the Syracuse
Post Standard. The last one was about
all the people who suffer or die from
medication errors -- drugs that are
prescribed incorrectly, or dispensed
incorrectly, or not taken properly by
patients. That's about 400,000
American's each year. Makes ME sick.
So the next column
is all about the ways you can make sure YOU
aren't one of those 400,000. Steps to
take at both your doctor's office and the
pharmacy to keep your drug-taking safe.
It's not difficult -- but -- you need to be
aware! After it's been published, I'll
post it online. If you want me to
notify you when it's online,
sign up here.
Maybe next year,
there will be only 399,999.
And tonite I'll do
a workshop at HealthLink. Choosing Dr.
Right. Be there or be square. |
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Posted:
September 11, 2006
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Lots
of info about September 11 on the news
today. So very sad, of course.
Since I'm located in Syracuse, NY, I'm not
far from New York City, yet I didn't know
anyone who was lost, or who lost anyone, at
the WTC.
They say there
were 3,000 victims that day. That's
people who died or were injured from that
one cause.
Each year, up to
98,000 Americans die from medical errors or
misdiagnosis. That's 33 times the
number of people who died in the World Trade
Center. That's one World Trade Center
every 11 days!
I'm doing my best
to make America aware -- and safer. Stick with me. |
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Posted:
September 10, 2006
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So I'm finally
getting around to it -- a blog for Every
Patient's Advocate. As of tomorrow, my
marketing business,
IntegriMark, will be sold (at least it's
supposed to -- but then "supposed to" has
been ongoing since June 1!) and I'll be left
to building my consultancy as a patient
safety, advocacy and consumerism diva.
Yup. Saving lives. It's a
mission.
Follow along as I blog about the columns I
write for the Syracuse Post Standard (hoping
to syndicate -- anyone interested?
please email me!), my radio show HealthLink
on Air (sponsored by University Hospital in
Syracuse), the workshops I teach, my
HealthBoards moderating duties, and the book
I'm writing. Much to do!
And provide
feedback, please! I'd love to hear
from you. |
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Find all new blog entries here:
http://everypatientsadvocate.com/blog
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