Patient portals can create serious problems when the results are not normal (see prior post). Patients may freak out and endure days or weeks of fear…and maybe even despair…before they sit down with their doctors and learn the news is not near as bad as they’d thought. For other patients, the news is as awful as they thought…and they lived with the news for too long before having an opportunity to discuss options with their doctors.
A Healthy Approach to worrisome online test results includes:
Read moreEven before some patients get home from a diagnostic test (blood test; imaging study; biopsy), they access their patient portal on their smart phone and periodically refresh the “test results” page until the results are in. Might that be you? I’m guilty as charged. Over the next few posts, I’ll share some tips that help me use the patient portal in ways that promote Healthy Survivorship.
Read moreSince the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act (April 2021), most test results are posted on patient portals as soon as they are done. Great, eh? No more nail-biting days or weeks of waiting and worrying until a doctor visit.
Sadly, the change replaced one set of problems with another. The risks of seeing test results before talking with your physicians include…
Read moreI’m a terrible loser. My latest mission? Learning the art of losing. Here, I’ll share my efforts to deal with a relatively insignificant loss.
Read moreRules of engagement are different for people in your inner circle. If you are unwell, here’s my personal take on answering, “How are you?” Your needs are the top priority but not the only priority. Maintaining healthy relationships with close family and friends is important and requires an ongoing investment of time and meaningful communication.
Read moreIn my prior post, I shared that the phrase, “unwell but good enough” helps me when people close to me ask, “How are you?” A reader’s comment about the downside of that answer in social situations prompted me to expand the discussion to help clarify which phrases help me and why.
Read moreAgreed-on words or phrases have been lifesavers for me and the people close to me. While dealing with my ongoing health challenges, I began answering the question, “How are you?” with a short phrase that helps us take care of each other’s needs.
Read moreAgreed-on words or phrases have been lifesavers for me and the people close to me. While dealing with my ongoing health challenges, here’s a phrase I began using to answer “How are you?” in a way that helps us take care of each other’s needs: Unwell, but good enough.
Read moreWhat do you do If feeling guilty because your illness is causing stress or problems for others?
Read moreGuilt and shame can complicate life during and after illness. Over the years of my cancer survivorship, I’ve strived to find healthy responses, efforts that began with exploring the similarities and differences between those two emotions.
Read moreHester Hill Schnipper’s columns present useful advice in a straightforward and comforting way. This gifted social worker (Chief of Oncology Social Work at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) did it again
Read moreIf a challenge upsets you, it may help to distinguish whether you have a problem or a dilemma.
Read moreLooking for new ways to help your problem solving? Try using a magic wand.
Read moreA short video intended to make a point about parenting somehow made me see in a new way a message about Healthy Survivorship, one I’ve been sharing for decades:
Read moreDo you prefer patient-focused or patient-centered medical care? What’s the difference?
Read moret's stressful to wait for your doctor’s office to answer your calls or respond to your online messages. I wrote this handout to provide some clarification and to offer some tips on contacting your doctors between office visits. Hope it helps!
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