Protected: Ubiqi Health: Harnessing Big Data for Engaged Patients
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Storytelling, Health Literacy and Tweetchats
Earlier this evening, I had the great pleasure of discussing my experiences with love, grief and storytelling on the The Health Communications, Health Literacy and Social Sciences Tweetchat (#hchlitss). It’s hosted by Kathleen Hoffman and RV Rikard with whom I share a similar mind in all things health literacy and health disparities. In the transcript below you can follow our discussion on the dispelling myths and misconceptions in organ donation and End of Life planning, overcoming health disparities, and transforming the culture of the health care system. A broad cross-section of the country was represented by the tweeps (people on twitter) who joined in on the chat.
Launching OnPulse for Better Health Care Communications
The foyer atrium was flooded with light as I walked toward the collection of of sofas and chairs near the glass wall. It was decidedly more quiet than the exhibitor area and not as dark as the ballrooms. A group of four individuals sat casually around a coffee table chatting. I first became aware of OnPulse, a healthcare communications company that uses innovative health information technologies to improve coordination of care in April while attending the TEDMED conference. There, I had the pleasure to speak with Corey Booker, MD and his associate David Armstrong. When I saw that they were participating in the Health 2.0 Spring Fling: Matchpoint Boston conference, I reached out to set up an interview.
Have You Ever Talked A Jumper Down from Her Ledge?
Here’s a little background. For the past two months, Mia has been living far away from her home. She’s is staying with a former roommate and paying him rent on a weekly basis. Sadly, she made no provisions with her doctors before leaving town to have extra prescriptions so that she could refill them once she finished off the first bottle. We had been playing phone tag and this message began very casually but you can quickly see that she has fallen into a crisis by the end of her message. Mia has become more and more decompensated so that the simplest of task, such as looking up a telephone number have become overwhelming to her. She can’t remember any coping skills because she’s been without group or individual therapy for over two months (some though not all of this is through no fault of her own) and without medicine (which she only takes sporadically anyway) for nearly a month and one half. Why doesn’t Mia want to go to the hospital? In all honesty, on this day, Mia doesn’t really have the ability to make a rational decision.
Health2.0 Spring Fling: Matchpoint Boston, A Preview
Today and tomorrow businesses and innovators are converging in Boston for launches and demonstrations of cutting edge technologies in healthcare. One of the highlights of this conference is an event called Matchpoint. Healthcare industry hosts and technology innovators are brought together for successive rounds of brief meetings to discuss specifically how a technology can meet … Read more
Dr. Otis Brawley, Shares with Journalists “How We Do Harm”
Imagine being a physician in the midst of residency training, caring for an elderly patient who is terminally ill. The family tells you at each consultation to do everything possible to save their father. With the greatest medical technology at your disposal, you do your best to care for your patient and his family. There are machines to control heart rate and breathing and tubes to bring in food and remove wastes, so your patient lives more than a month longer than any physician would have expected. But were you true to your oath, “first do no harm”?
#HAWMC: The Human Brain & TEDMED2012—A Creative Explosion
Today’s post continues the month-long series called the Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge (#HAWMC) created by WEGO Health. Open a Book. Choose a book and open it to a random page and point to a phrase. Use that phrase to get you writing today. Free write for 15-20 without stopping. “The final step was the … Read more
#HAWMC: Anger—Bitter Pill or Gift?
Anger is a natural aspect of grief, loss and mourning but when you are a homicide survivor (or someone who has lost a loved one to murder) anger takes on added characteristics. Literature on anger underscores the importance of identifying your anger and then finding healthy ways to channel that anger so that it doesn’t ultimately destroy you—psychologically or physically. Since the death of my brother, I have become intimately familiar with anger. I’ve come to know it in ways I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.
#HAWMC: Warning! We Are All Suffering from A Condition Known As Pre-Death
If only everyone’s transition into death could be as smooth and peaceful as what the artists choose to depict. We all know that one day we will die but we have no idea when or how. This ignorance protects us. It allows us to make our way though the world—heart-beating, breathing, experiencing the space around us, making connections, sharing ideas—in essence, we create a life. As a healthcare activist, I try to encourage people to take an autonomous approach to managing both health and illness, so that they might maximize and optimize that life. The message is catching on. In my opinion, however, this autonomy should extend right up until the moment you take your last breath.
#HAWMC: Peek Inside A Blogger’s Process
Today’s post continues the month-long series called the Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge (#HAWMC) created by WEGO Health. Writing with Style. What’s your writing style? Do words just flow from your mind to your fingertips? Do you like handwriting first? Do you plan your posts? Title first or last? Where do you write best? Those … Read more
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