It’s clear that many healthcare workers are feeling worn out, burned out, anxious and even angry. There is good reporting about the problem, which includes a critical shortage of nurses, and some organizations offer programs designed to help address the symptoms. But in the short term, there is very little that can be done to […]
Contextualizing patient care — making sure that prescribed treatments, medications and other instructions for care are relevant and reasonable in the context of the patient’s real-life circumstances — should be routine, not revolutionary. But physicians often prescribe care without knowing whether patients will be able to follow the instructions. The diagnosis and care may medically […]
Editor’s note: This is the latest installment in what has become a series of posts about partnerships that medical practices have formed to provide patients and families with additional services. This trend reflects increased awareness that factors outside traditional medical services can have a profound and ongoing effect on health. Practices that engage effectively with […]
Editor’s Note. After waiting in the wings for years, telemedicine took center stage in the early days of the pandemic. Elisabeth Rosenthal urges caution and deliberate choices as we determine what role telemedicine should play in the service of patients going forward. This story also ran in The New York Times. Earlier in the pandemic […]
Asking patients “What matters to you?” instead of “What is the matter?” is a shift of emphasis I first heard advocated years ago at one of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s National Forum conferences. To learn and honor each patient’s preferences should by now be a natural part of delivering care, but it remains a […]
I stood next to “Laura’s” bed just before her surgery as the nurse asked her for her list of medications and allergies. Laura shot back at the nurse, “Don’t you have it? I already gave the same list to everyone!” The nurse explained that the question is a safety precaution, meant to ensure that everyone […]
With many people turning to social media networks for information during an urgent and often confusing public health crisis, it’s more important than ever that patients feel comfortable talking openly and honestly with reliable health experts especially when they have questions or need help. And it’s very helpful if clinicians have skills and strategies for […]
Over the next few weeks, Engaging Patients will highlight podcasts and articles about how trust is involved when we — patients, clinicians, students and others — engage in healthcare. I didn’t go looking for a theme; rather, it presented itself through social media and email notifications. It appears that many people have been thinking about […]
Editor’s Note: Looking back over 2020, it’s easy to see that the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has touched nearly every aspect of daily life around the world, and in heath care the impact has been profound. What a year! In addition to the extent and depth of change the pandemic has triggered, I’m struck by the pandemic’s […]
Editor’s Note: OpenNotes has grown from a pilot program involving 20,000 patients in 2010 to an evidence-based approach that offered direct access to clinical visit notes to more than 40 million patients in the United States and Canada in 2019. The program, which is headquartered at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, describes itself […]