Might patients hold the key to putting the brake on spiralling healthcare costs?  If you had asked me that question a few days ago I’d have said no. We all know about the problem of spiralling demand for healthcare and rising patients’ expectations. But after participating in the Salzburg  Global Seminar,  where the  thesis that” better decision making by patients will result in better and cheaper healthcare” was debated,  my views have shifted. more…

My longstanding interests in US health disparities, doctor patient interactions, and prostate cancer mortality made the 477th Salzburg Global Seminar of profound interest to me. It had a great impact on my thinking as a sociologist. The seminar enlightened me about problems with the quality of health communications and processes of decision making that may result in less than desirable health outcomes.  It also informed me about important pathways to the way forward. more…

Paternalism is so last century. In this new era of patient centered care, the modern health professional knows the importance of involving patients in decisions about their care, particularly when there is more than one appropriate option, and the decision hinges on personal preferences and values. more…

I’m an e-patient: empowered, engaged, equipped, enabled. Diagnosed in 2007 with late stage kidney cancer, I used the internet in every way possible to help my cause, in concert with world class physicians at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Today I am well.

A year after my diagnosis I discovered e-patients.net, a blog started by “Doc Tom” Ferguson in 2006. Ferguson authored several BMJ pieces, including “Online patient-helpers and physicians working together: a new partnership for high quality health care.” It sounds like a vision of the future, but it appeared in November 2000 – ten years ago. more…

Involving and informing patients in decisions about their medical care is a very important issue since patients are one of the untapped resources in healthcare. But in low and middle income countries like China, where universal coverage of healthcare services has not been reached, a big concern is whether patients with equal needs can get equal access to health services under shared decision making processes. more…