Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Back to my Nose... the sad news is that the allergy is back!

For those of you who bothered to follow my journey through surgery and recovery for my nose, i have new report to add. The good news is that i am still breathing through both sides of my nose, which is great! However, i am beginning to experience the almost the same level of allergy reaction before surgery. My nose has been running quite regularly, and given the recent haze, I am beginning to sound like the old alarm clock with my continuous sneezes in the morning. At this time, I am attributing it to the haze. Look like I may have to get back on some of my allergy medication to get a grip on it before it becomes worst.

Hope this will pass...

Friday, May 16, 2008

Some things don't change throughout the world

The issues of care coordination, patient communication and service breakdowns during hand-offs are so similar around the world and yet so difficult to get a handle around conclusively. This staff-turned-caregiver feedback about her experience at Beth Isreal Hospital/ Boston is so real. Can we accept it that because humans are fallible so such breakdown in coordination is inevitable... or should we add on onerous layers of checks to prevent such errors? I think the answer lies in whether we have the will and the courage to change. One person cannot do it, neither can 100. But when we ALL decide to provide a level of healthcare good enough for our mothers without the need for special arrangements, we can create a culture that will make the difference!

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Etiquette-Based Medicine?

Here is an interesting article from the new england journal of medicine on how doctor-patient relationship can significantly improve how patient perceives he is well treated.