Patients Archives

Social Justice

Is the Quest to Build a Kinder, Gentler Surgeon Misguided?

Surgery is a fundamentally messy and stressful activity. When being a few millimeters off target can be life-changing, a surgeon needs to possess fierce concentration, unrelenting perfectionism, and, above all, staunch self-assurance.

Wen Shen

Social Justice

The Decline of the Physical Exam in Modern Medicine

Doctors today are too uncomfortable with uncertainty.

Sandeep Jauhar

Social Justice

Digging Through the Medicare Data Dump: Billing Outliers Often Have Disciplinary Problems, Too

As news organizations analyze data on Medicare payments, doctors with disciplinary records keep popping up.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

I’d Never Admit That to My Doctor. But to a Computer? Sure

New research finds patients are more likely to respond honestly to personal questions when talking to a virtual human.

Tom Jacobs

Social Justice

Top Billing: Meet the Doctors Who Charge Medicare Top Dollar for Office Visits

Medicare paid for more than 200 million office visits for established patients in 2012. Overall, health professionals classified only four percent as complex enough to command the most expensive rates. But 1,800 providers billed at the top level at least 90 percent of the time. Experts question whether the charges are legitimate.

Charles Ornstein & Ryann Grochowski Jones

Social Justice

Treat, Don’t Tweet: The Dangerous Rise of Social Media in the Operating Room

Surveys suggest most doctors and nurses understand the significant safety issues associated with the use of cell phones and laptops during surgery. But that’s not stopping them from pulling out the distracting devices.

Rebecca Buckwalter-Poza

Social Justice

A Better Way to Pick the Doctor That’s Right for You

For years, patients have had few ways to compare doctors beyond their reputations. With a huge Medicare data release, that may soon change.

Charles Ornstein

Social Justice

So You’ve Become a Patient Safety Statistic—Now What?

Six recommended steps to take if you’ve suffered harm in a medical facility.

Marshall Allen

Social Justice

Our Patient-Harm Problem: One Third in Nursing Facilities Harmed by Treatment

A study by Medicare’s inspector general of skilled nursing facilities says nearly 22,000 patients were injured and more than 1,500 died in a single month—a higher rate of medical errors than hospitals.

Marshall Allen

Social Justice

10 Patient Stories: When Attorneys Refused My Medical Malpractice Case

"Dad's life was worth nothing because he was old."

Marshall Allen & Olga Pierce