January 6th, 2012 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Research
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It’s time for some good news! A study that looked at online patient ratings about their physicians from 2004 through 2010 showed that the average physician rating was 9.3 out of 10. That is amazingly high and shows that patients (at least the ones who posted on Dr.Score) are very content with the care they receive from their doctor. Even though some patients will post a nasty comment about the doctor, the overall patient satisfaction is high. Seventy percent of doctors earned a perfect 10.
The survey asked patients to Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
December 24th, 2011 by Dinah Miller, M.D. in Opinion
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When we talk about psychotherapy, one aspect of what we look at is the process of what occurs in the therapeutic relationship. This is an important part of psychodynamic-based psychotherapy, meaning psychotherapy that is derived from the theories put forth by Freud. Psychoanalysis (the purest form of psychodynamic psychotherapy) includes an emphasis on events that occurred during childhood, and a focus on understanding what goes on in the relationship between the therapist and the patient, including the transference and counter-transference.
In some of our posts, our friend Jesse has commented about how it’s important to understand what transpires in the mind of the patient when certain things are said and done. Let me tell you that Jesse is a wonderful psychiatrist, he is warm and caring and attentive and gentle, and he’s had extensive training in the analytic method, he’s on my list of who I go to when I need help, so while I want to discuss this concept, I don’t want anyone, especially Jesse, to think I don’t respect him. With that disclaimer…..
On my tongue-in-cheek post on What to Get Your Psychiatrist for the Holidays, Jesse wrote: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Shrink Rap*
November 29th, 2011 by EvanFalchukJD in Research
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Bill Gates once said:
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.
It’s clever, and it seems right. Now there is science to prove it.
In a study published last week, scientists studied special imaging scans of doctors’ brains as they made simulated medical decisions. Those doctors who paid attention to their mistakes made better decisions than those who were more interested in their successes: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at BestDoctors.com: See First Blog*
November 27th, 2011 by EvanFalchukJD in Opinion
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Guatemala is a developing country, with great natural beauty, hard-working people and many challenges. Most Americans look at places like Guatemala and see only the challenges. Some see opportunity.
I’ve just returned from Guatemala, where I met with our business partners, government officials, and others. And I can tell you a universal truth. People across the world want the best medical care they can get. They aren’t looking for the latest technologies and drugs and treatments – or, rather, they aren’t looking only for those things. No, what is most important to whoever I meet, no matter where they live, is that they are able to get the right diagnosis, and the right treatment.
It’s a harder thing to get in some places than in others. Americans don’t realize that Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at BestDoctors.com: See First Blog*
November 18th, 2011 by StevenWilkinsMPH in Opinion, Research
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Abraham Verghese, MD, Standford University
My wife has two world-class oncologists who help her manage her Stage 4 Lung Cancer. Both are excellent clinicians. Yet their skills differ in one very important way. Her radiation oncologist physically touches her a lot (in a good way of course!). There are the touches on her arm, a hand on the shoulder, hugs, and of course a thorough hands-on physician exam. Her medical oncologist not so much.
We all recognize the therapeutic value of touch. Dr. Abraham Verghese, a Stanford Physician and Professor, at the 2011 Med2.0 Conference, described the power of touch associated with the physical exam. In the following scenario he describes an interaction with a chronic fatigue patient who came to him after being seen by many other physicians: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Mind The Gap*