A community colleague recently asked me where he might find the latest numbers on the percentage of U.S. adults who participate in online patient communities. In the spirit of “public Q&A” I’d like to share my answer and ask people to add tips about other resources in the comments. Up until July 2014, I led […]
peer-to-peer health care
Hack needed: Tiny pills, trembling hands
A friend writes: I am sweeping the kitchen and just found one of my brother-in-law’s Parkinson’s pills [Ropinirole]. Every time he has to take it, he drops it. It is tiny and, well, he has Parkinson’s. I can’t tell you how many times the kids end up on the floor looking for the pill he […]
Find your people
Longtime readers will recognize this story, but I’m posting it again here–and on Medium–to honor Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day: When Burt Minow was born in 1922, his disability — partial hearing loss and complete facial paralysis—was immediately apparent. His mouth was frozen in a sort of frown, and he could not suck on a nipple to get […]
Save us, Facebook
The Reuters story about Facebook taking its “first steps into healthcare” read like an announcement that Las Vegas was getting into entertainment or that New York City was getting into fashion. Extraordinary health communities have grown up between the cracks of Facebook’s platform. It’s just that up until now executives publicly looked the other way. […]
Public Q&A: How to support an introvert in an increasingly connected world?
All signs point to a social revolution in health. As I’ve put it, the internet gives us access not only to information, but also to each other. Crucial advice can come from a just-in-time someone-like-you as well as from a clinician. So what happens to people who are shy or introverted? If sharing and learning […]
What I learned going down an emergency slide
Escaping from an airplane is a lot like navigating health care — you need help from the people around you I can hardly sit through the standard pre-flight safety demonstrations anymore. It all seems like a farce now that I know the truth: Your survival of an emergency may depend more on the people around you than […]
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