The medical establishment is fond of pointing out the hazards of self-diagnosis, and all the confusion it can cause patients who try to understand their own problems. But when specialists and tests don’t yield clear answers, patients with worrisome symptoms are often left to forge on without much help.
The Radical Patient
Doctor-patient confidentiality is intended to protect the patient. It’s being used to protect physicians who cause harm.
In Alameda county, African-American infants’ mortality rate is 4x higher than their Caucasion counterparts. A local hospital chief tackled the problem with a model program but little funding.
The aftermath of gun violence is devastating, and yet Americans have grown so used to it in the news that it no longer shocks or awakens us to how preventable it really is. Deadly acceptance replaces grief and meaningful reform.
“With nearly 80 percent of internet users searching online for health-related information, it’s no wonder the catchphrase “Dr. Google” has caught on…”
Can healthcare become equitable when physician compensation is anything but?
There’s a type of magnet called a “rare-earth” toy magnet that is very tiny and extremely powerful — up to 30x more than a regular kitchen magnet. They are commercially available under various brand names and while they are ostensibly intended for adults, they are very attractive to children, many of whom have swallowed them….These magnets are so strong that they can literally pull two different areas of the intestines together, requiring invasive surgery.
“If you are having a stroke, there is about a 9 percent chance you will be misdiagnosed in the ER — a statistic that applies to all age groups when the patient is seen initially in the ER. But if you are young, female, a person of color or have limited education (less than a high school degree), your risk of misdiagnosis soars,” according to one expert cited in this article from the Washington Post. For women, apparently, that risk is a whopping 30% higher than the norm.
A quick and memorable read about a woman who persisted in her search for a medical explanation where doctors and imaging were turning up none. Had she not, she would likely have died from an aggressive form of kidney cancer, a diagnosis made more difficult by the fact that she didn’t “fit'“ the profile of the typical patient.
