Late in December, Dr. John Krueger published an article in The Journal of Participatory Medicine that caught our eye: The Patient Will See You Now. Read More

Stephen J. Downs has a piece at The Health Care Blog reporting on preliminary results from a study about doctors notes. In particular, the study looked at attitudes about Jan Walker and Tom Delbanco’s program OpenNotes, which allows patients to see their doctors’ notes via secure e-mail after a visit. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study is finding that patients are more optimistic and less worried than doctors about the implications of open notes. Read More

Here’s a story in the Journal of Participatory Medicine about a very successful team approach to treating two disabled sisters with chronic, complex medical conditions. Accompanying this piece is a beautifully written and heartfelt account of the long journey to successful care written by the third sister, the one who advocated tirelessly to make sure that her sisters got the help they needed. It’s heartening to read a success story—and sobering to acknowledge just how much advocacy was required to get the sisters adequate care. Read More

Here’s a piece on the effectiveness of team care in treating cases of multiple physical and mental chronic conditions. The keys to success: 1) having nurses partner with both provider teams and patients to address physical and mental conditions at the same time, and 2) motivating patients to monitor their symptoms. Read More