My dad was a survivor — of a heart attack in his 50s, kidney cancer in his 60s, and an initial diagnosis of melanoma in his 70s. Melanoma recurrence and complications of treatment are what finally got him. A lifelong runner, Dad kept meticulous notes about his mileage and heart rate on paper. He bought […]
peer-to-peer health care
Sunflowers turn to each other for help
Sunflowers have always been my favorite flower and now I know why: They turn to each other for help. Image: My backyard sunflower patch at its midsummer height (I gave up on growing vegetables this year and reaped a crop of beauty instead).
A helping hand, just in time
Some years ago a few colleagues and I got stuck at Logan Airport and we started telling stories to pass the time. One tale has come back to me over and over again, particularly as I cared for my dad during his last year of life, because it reminded me to be open to the possibility […]
Assessing the quality of peer health advice
“Can you really trust what you read online?” is a frequent (and valid) question about online health information, particularly peer to peer advice. People who are part of healthy peer communities sometimes scoff at the question since they see so much good coming from the opportunity to connect and share information. But how might we […]
A Matter of Trust, Perception, Risk, and Uncertainty
The Big Issues Raised by the Acquisition of PatientsLikeMe and Other Patient Data Transactions By Susannah Fox, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn and Lisa Suennen I’ve lived long enough to have learned The closer you get to the fire the more you get burned But that won’t happen to us Cause it’s always been a matter of trust -A […]
We need a digital health Cajun Navy
The Cajun Navy – people who rally their personal boats to rescue hurricane survivors – is an example of how ordinary citizens are the true first responders in a disaster zone. Instead of seeing locals as liabilities, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has started looking for ways to support their work. As David Graham wrote in The Atlantic: […]
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