This week, I went to a new dermatologist. I adored her from the start. Not only did she do the most comprehensive mole and skin check that I’ve ever experienced, she also told me that she could fix my psoriasis, the itchy, flaky plague that’s bothered me since shortly after moving to California 12 years…
Tag Archive: healthcare
Talk To Your Doctor
In December, we went on a family vacation. Almost immediately, my preschooler started in with a runny nose. Three days later, I woke with a scratchy throat and he woke with goopy eyes, leading me to assume the worst. I emailed his pediatrician who, of course, was on her own vacation, and instead got a…
Harnessing My Inner Nerd
I don’t think that my nerdiness comes as a surprise to those who know me. I embrace it. And yet, there are still moments where even I’m surprised by the extent of this affliction. As I sat down to review the 54 pages of session listings for the 2010 AMWA conference, I was smiling. Writing…
The 3rd 40: Days 15-19
It’s not easy to take care of yourself on a business trip, and this one was no exception. But the weather in Chicago was gorgeous — 80 degrees! In April! — which made sunrise runs seem a little more reasonable. I woke at 6:00 AM both days and found myself sharing Lakefront Trail with hundreds…
The Right Place at the Right Time
This morning at the PRSA Health Academy conference, Dr. Peter Salgo — whose name you might recognize from here, here or here — gave a very energetic talk about the future of healthcare in America. The future, he says, is wellness: a proactive approach to treating people before disease strikes and before they need to…
The 3rd 40: Days 7 and 8
I haven’t exactly hit the ground running with the Big Project yet. We’re still haggling over indemnification clauses in the master agreement, so even though I’ve done some work already (always a bad idea without signed paperwork), there’s a chance that they just might cut me loose for trying to protect myself. And if that’s…
Unplugging From the News
I’m a news junkie. My homepage is set to Google News headlines. I read the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BoingBoing and anything that shows up in my feed reader under a variety of custom-configured search parameters. And say what you will about Twitter as a tool for outbound communications, but the hive…
HITECH Puts New Emphasis on Healthcare Security
How safe is your patient information? According to Premier, Inc., approximately 10 million patient records were breached between 2005 and 2008. The average cost of each breach reaches into the millions. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) includes new provisions regarding protected health information (PHI). HITECH goes beyond the security…
What’s Wrong With Healthcare
A few weeks ago, I had an infected finger. I went to the doctor (one who I adore at a practice that I respect) and spent a grand total of five minutes with her. She gave me my options: high-powered oral antibiotics or a quick slice to drain the finger. Being allergic to the two…
Eco-Friendly Healthcare IT
In most healthcare organizations, the data center is in crisis. Utility costs are increasing, squeezing out other elements of the IT budget, and as hospitals require more applications, resources and storage, data center space is increasingly limited. The global recession has put a crimp in many ambitious plans for green initiatives. IT leaders have come…