I may be one of the few people on the planet who invested my second language studies in Latin. And yes, it probably would have been more practical to study a language people actually speak! While having a working knowledge of Latin has been helpful for crossword puzzles, at other times my intellectual curiosity simply […]
Hospital Discharge: Could it be a bit more hospitable? Read More »
It looks like a horse. It smells like a horse. It rides like a horse. It must be a horse, right? Well, maybe, unless it’s the Famous Mr. Ed. For those of you too young to remember, Mr. Ed was a talking horse who could only be heard by his owner, and was a bit
Short term health insurance….A horse (of course) or Mr. Ed? Read More »
You took the time to prepare for your visit with your doctor. You asked your doctor to explain her observations with words you understand, you told her what you thought you heard, and she confirmed it. You request a copy of you medical record or log onto your patient portal a few days later, and
Is that what I said? That’s not what I meant! Now what? Part 2 Read More »
You might remember a children’s game from long ago called “Telephone:” Someone thought of a message and whispered it to the person next to them, who whispered it to the person next to them and so on. The last person would repeat what they heard out loud and it was always met with giggles and
Is That What I said? That’s not what I meant! Read More »
Some people think of October as Trick or Treat time; Patient Advocates see it as the kickoff of health insurance open enrollment for the coming year, whether employer-sponsored, individual, and/or Medicare. It may not be as playful as donning a costume or carving a jack o’lantern, but approaching your open enrollment period with the
Health Insurance Open Enrollment: Trick or Treat Read More »
There are Reasons to be Suspicious about drug ads on TV Like many people I often stream TV on my own time. Some Sundays ago I realized that “Madame Secretary” was going to be airing real time in a few minutes so I decided to tolerate commercials I couldn’t fast forward through and experience network
Truth in Pharmaceutical Drug Advertising Read More »
Emergency. Dictionary.com defines it this way: “a sudden, urgent, usually unexpected occurrence or occasion requiring immediate action. “ In my healthcare experience lifetime, perhaps nothing has changed more than the role of the hospital emergency room. In my youth the hospital had two roles: caring for very ill or post-surgery patients needing nursing care until
Healthcare Directives and Planning The call came late on a Thursday. The husband of a long married couple had suffered a stroke 2 weeks earlier. He had lost the ability to swallow and the doctor at the hospital had urged surgery to place a feeding tube directly to his stomach before transferring him to a
Your Decisions Matter… Or Do They? Read More »
Health care bills have mistakes, sometimes lots of them. The figure most often quoted is that up to 80% of medical bills have errors. I’ve looked for the original source of that statement without success, but I did find one medical bill review company, Medical Billing Advocates of America, who noted that in their practice
When the Bill is Just Wrong Read More »
