30 Nov Two Sides
By Laura Sander, MD MPH “The blue side is what I display to people and the dark side is just that. The thoughts that race in my head are in yellow and white. Red is anger. The dark side of my mouth is because I say...
Author: admin
23 Nov The Cost of Not Caring
By Stephen Miranda By the time Lydia came to Pathways Hospice, she had suffered from several hospitalizations. I was her “companionship volunteer.” During my training I learned about the power of a volunteer visit, but I had my doubts. At nineteen, I hardly had the life...
16 Nov The Costs of Breast Cancer in the U.S.
By Shane Ryan We all know that receiving a cancer diagnosis is traumatic. When patients and their families are faced with such a potentially life-threatening situation, the first thought is often that they’ll be willing to do anything that’s needed to fight it. However, the journey...
09 Nov Saving Pennies
By Rita Kuwahara Every nurse knew his name. Every provider was intimately familiar with his medical problems and why he spent 124 days in the past year in the hospital. The day I met Mr. X was the day before his discharge. He was excited to go...
02 Nov Doc, I Need an MRI
By Patricia Czapp, MD “Doc, I need an MRI for my back.” I recognized the voice immediately and turned to greet one of my favorite patients, Mr. P. There he was, smiling, leaning on his walker. Mr. P visits me several times a day in my primary care...
26 Oct Teaching Future Physicians the Value of Care
By Charlene Gaw My first day of medical school was a day I had been anticipating for almost a decade. It started in high school when I began volunteering at a local hospital. At the time, I had an idealized vision of a career in medicine....
19 Oct How Mary Taught Me The True Cost of Living With HIV
By Vaidehi Mujumdar I walked into the ICU room to find Mary* lying in the bed curled up, a small spot in a pool of white sheets haphazardly covering her. A ward of the state at an HIV/AIDS hospice in Harlem, she was suffering from end-stage...
12 Oct Unexpected costs and uninsured
By S. Matt Read It was just before dawn, and Annie was shaking. I said her name once without a response, then again. Nothing. Then a long moan. I jumped up and turned the light on. Annie was having a seizure. I ran to the next room and...
05 Oct Tallying the High Cost of Preventable Harm
By Sophia Bernazzani Public opinion polls suggest most Americans trust their medical team. People consistently list doctors, nurses and pharmacists as some of the most trusted professions. When we go to the doctor or are admitted to the hospital, few of us worry about the doctor,...
28 Sep Kidney stones can be a serious PAIN!
By Kathy Day Last year I shared my story about kidney stones. I wasn’t suffering with a stone at the time and so I may have been a little arrogant in my comments. I wanted to write an addendum for the Costs of Care blog. I am...