In the last post I asked if “engaged patients” was a buzz-word or a reality given the differing ways people interpret the term engaged. If we believe that “engaging patients” means to actively listen to understand the patient’s needs, we are on a path to partnership with patients and families. Active listening opens the door to meaningful two-way communication. The added bonus of tuning-in for a couple of minutes is that patients sense a higher level of interest from the nurse and doctor. And this is your direct connection to managing HACAPS. HACAPS will never be a true measure of clinical … [Read more...]
Do Patients Receive Full Disclosure About Medications?
This is a heavy topic for the first blog post of 2013, but I sense this issue may be nearing critical mass. Please look at the BBC article about Pharma’s lack of disclosure. Patients and clinicians are making decisions today with not just incomplete data. The Cochrance Collaborative has long called for all findings in clinical trials to be made available. When only positive results are published the bias is obvious. How else can we know the full context of drugs that are on the market? But we do not know because full disclosure is not common practice from the pharmaceutical industry. … [Read more...]