PREPARED PATIENT BLOG

Patients and experts explore what it takes to find good health care and make the most of it.

Time’s “How to Cure Cancer” Cover – Worst of the Year?

Gary Schwitzer | May 20, 2013

That’s what journalist Seth Mnookin writes on Slate, stating, further, that it is “wrong, grandiose, and cruel.” He writes, “I haven’t found a single cancer researcher who believes this means we’re on the verge of curing cancer.”
 

Rationing Medications

Trudy Lieberman | May 15, 2013
In America, the conventional wisdom is that we don't ration health care. But we do, and there's no better example than patients rationing themselves when it comes to the medicines they take.

Is Patient Engagement a Set-Up for Failure?

Jessie Gruman | May 15, 2013
“Maybe we shouldn’t urge people to engage in their health care: it sets them up for failure and punishment from their clinicians.”

A senior patient advocate and researcher recently made this comment to a gathering of experts in patient engagement. For a few minutes, I was inclined to agree with her.

My Weekend as an Emergency Patient and What I Learned

Anne Polta | May 13, 2013
If you want to see what health care is really like, there’s no better way than by becoming a patient yourself. To paraphrase the wisdom of Dr. Seuss, “Oh, the things you’ll learn!”

How Easily We Can Misinterpret the Benefits of Patient-Centered Innovation!

Jessie Gruman | May 8, 2013
Here's the bad news: We will not benefit from the health care services, drugs, tests and procedures available to us unless we pay attention, learn about our choices, interact with our clinicians and follow through on the plans we make together.

Are We Finally Getting Closer to Price Transparency?

Trudy Lieberman | May 8, 2013
The revelations by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on Wednesday that hospitals vary widely in what they “charge” for the same procedure—sometimes as much as 10 or 20 times more than Medicare reimburses—confirms what health policy wonks have known for a long time. There’s no consistency in pricing for health care services…

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