Pages

July 29, 2008

TALK Patient, LISTEN Doctor, COMMUNICATE Healthcare

Here are some excerpts from a disturbing review of the doctor-patient relationship in the NYTimes Well section. This is important.
...there is a disconnect between the way doctors and patients view medicine. Doctors are trained to diagnose disease and treat it, he said, while “patients are interested in being tended to and being listened to and being well.”

The reasons for all this frustration are complex. Doctors, facing declining reimbursements and higher costs, have only minutes to spend with each patient. News reports about medical errors and drug industry influence have increased patients’ distrust. And the rise of direct-to-consumer drug advertising and medical Web sites have taught patients to research their own medical issues and made them more skeptical and inquisitive.
Keep in mind that EVERYTHING revolves around the communication between a patient and physician; need for lab tests and procedures, need for prescription medication, referral to specialists who then may refer out to more specialists, the odds of the doc getting sued, chances for the copay to get waived, whether the insurer finds reason to deny treatment, what your stress level will be that day (and maybe for a long time afterwards).

Going to the doctor has one of the highest potentials for changing your life (what else is there? job interview, meeting the parents, going to court). It all boils down to interaction, so its worth your while to make sure you find a doc that suits your personality, understands your lifestyle, and listens(!!). The article also gives a few more pointers.
Patients who don’t trust their doctor should look for a new one, but they may be able to improve existing relationships by being more open and communicative.

Go to a doctor’s visit with written questions so you don’t forget to ask what’s important to you. If a doctor starts to rush out of the room, stop him or her by saying, “Doctor, I still have some questions.” Patients who are open with their doctors about their feelings and fears will often get the same level of openness in return.

July 27, 2008

Is Blogging becoming a crutch?

I’m amazed by bloggers who can post 3 times a day (Tyler Cowen) with relevant content but find it pretty unrealistic unless there's some major incentive involved; money, larger audience, branding, etc. Done pro-bono, blogging still serves a personal purpose but at what point does it take away from spending an hour doing something else? What’s the opportunity cost? When does it start becoming a conversational crutch?

Its happened a lot that I preface what I’ve blogged in conversation, and that’s a huge pro to blogging; it organizes my thoughts around a specific topic really well. Sometimes though, I have a great conversation with someone that provides a similar organizational benefit and I end up taking hours blogging about it.

For the average blogger with a friend/family/coworker audience, it might be more beneficial to just keep sharing the learning points at a company picnic, family get-together, or house party. Blogging may just be getting in the way of something that’s already become clear to the blogger and probably will not reach a larger audience outside their personal scope anyway.

Even if you’re journalizing your thoughts, the cumulative hours spent typing away may not be worth the effort. To avoid letting the process of blogging get in the way of life experience, a friend of mine uses a private twitter account to document momentary occurrences. A quick 140 word text gets the job done 90% of the time. The rest is blogged. Brilliant!

Bottomline: A journal can be a blog, but a blog is not necessarily a journal. Some conversations are just more worthwhile having in real life with people you know. If you have enough of an audience to test out your new ideas before exploring them in conversation, then go for it. I don’t believe this represents the majority of bloggers though. As a litmus test, ask yourself this; “if my computer (and blog server) crashed right now and I lost what I was writing, would it really be worth writing again?”

July 17, 2008

As the Wordle Churns

If you haven't already, check out Wordle! Basically, you type in a few words in a text box and it generates a cloud image of those words. You can wordle any website or del.icio.us feed as well. My clouds are below.

This blog:


My del.icio.us tags:


Words I used to create a collage for a friend's wedding:

July 14, 2008

Universal Health Care: Right, Privilege or Commodity?

Must-read intelligent and clear-cut article on the different perspectives behind universal health care. If you've ever wondered why the U.S. is having trouble solving the 47 million uninsured problem, this article gives you a glimpse into why. Here's an excerpt:
We Americans are truly a spoiled lot when it comes to consumerism - the medical industry is not spared. We want to go to the best doctor possible. We want choice, and we will pay for choice. If there is a special procedure, we want it done. What we do not realize is that those choices and tiers of medicine are only availed through a profit-driven capitalist medical industry. Where do we think all of those drug and device discoveries are coming from? From the company that spent billions of dollars researching it and who sells it at a handsome profit and whose stock is listed in the public markets!

July 11, 2008

Everyone deserves to be in the Credits

Movies are such a grand affair to make: lighting, makeup, production, set design, casting, assistant to the 2nd cameraman, and the list goes on. Why are we familiar with these terms? Because they're in the credits! Mind you, most of us don't watch the credits because we're really there for the big show, but it really really matters to the people involved in the making. They tell it to their family, friends and even acquaintances with a sense of pride and accomplishment. In fact, I was an extra in The Namesake for about seven seconds and its become one of those things that just gets mentioned off-hand in conversation. The notion of credits is very transferable to other arenas, especially in the work world.

No matter how hoaky, being mentioned at a picnic, a newsletter, a party, or conference has a very lasting effect on people. No one's really immune. The very best companies make use of this concept heavily in other ways as well through sophiscated-sounding titles, celebrations, and leadership opportunities (in anything; from taking charge of team projects to managing the company softball team). Whatever work efforts we're involved in, there is a beginning, a middle and an end. Focus is almost always on the first two; start-up and maintenance. Yet companies evolve just the same as TV sitcoms do. The "end" with credits and all is the shifting point to antoher theme, product or customer; think Apple, Google, Microsoft but also Johnson & Johnson, GE and Procter & Gamble.

Bottomline: Acclaim matters. Make it a part of your work and personal life. Commend yourself and others upon meeting deadlines, reaching milestones, achieving goals. Change has to be a part of the system (more on that in another post). Employees and customers continue to stay interested only if you remain interesting. Figure out how to get you and your organization there. Credit opportunistically and you'll only create more opportunities to credit.

July 9, 2008

You're Not Really As Old As Your Age

Preemies or premature infants are tracked closely during their first few years of their life to see how they develop. Weight, size, and head circumference are some of the growth factors used to adjust their age and calculate what’s called a “real age”. For example, a 6 month old baby who scores low on these metrics may be adjusted to an age of 4 months. It’s in this light that I’ve been thinking of adult age as being adjusted by maturity level. We’ve all seen or taken those “real age” tests that tell us our real age is 21 or 32 even though we might actually be 25. I want to explore the principle behind this a little more, but in the sense of how mature other adults (40+) view us to be.

The idea originates from the fact that we now live much longer lives and our personal and work lives have changed dramatically because of it. We have more time room to maneuver in. We don’t have to be “settled” at 24 anymore (ha!). A career isn’t forever and we explore possibilities related to our hobbies and interests rather than something we picked in our adolescence. This extension in our settlement as adults has a larger effect though on how we are perceived by other adults. Their generation did have to grow up fast (relatively) and we’re largely held to a similar framework. If we don’t meet expectation, then we’re treated, well, like children. Unlike the preemies, who are given the attention and care to catch up to their age, 20 and 30-somethings in a state of maturity flux (in school or changing careers) are pushed further down the “adult” totem pole.

A simple example is a 28-yr old married postgrad (med/law/PhD) with two kids. He/she obviously pays bills and has gone through some major “adult” experiences (marriage, childbirth) but being a student really cramps mature interactions with other adults. Or to turn it around, there’s the 24-yr old single marketing professional without any kids who still starts his/her weekend on a Wednesday night. Comes to work on time, is ambitiously climbing the ladder, but due to lifestyle choices is held to a lower maturity level. Both are well-functioning citizens of society and because they don’t fit the old career paradigm, they’re not afforded the same respect as adults who’ve made more PC choices.

Bottomline: Your boss can boss you around because you’re not working, but can’t parent you because you choose to play world of warcraft in your free time. Your professor can teach you his/her expertise, but can’t make you come to class (you’re paying for it!). Stick to roles and don’t adjust people’s age by your perception of their maturity level. Yes, a boss can be a parent and a professor can guide behavior, but not until they’re asked. Relationships are mutual agreements and too often adults take on added unasked-for responsibilities just because they think they can. If you’re a recipient of this sort of behavior, make your age and maturity clear. There’s no set definition for “adult.”