Fred N. Pelzman, MedPage Today

In general, I think that good data is a good thing. But is bad data of any use, and is it better than no data at all?

In our lives as healthcare providers, we encounter enormous amounts of data. All day long we are brushed by and inundated with data points, be they individual things like the number of patients on our schedules, or the number of times our patients’ hearts beat as we lay our fingers gently on the wrist to measure their pulses, or listen with our stethoscope to the number of breaths per minute.

Our inboxes and the electronic health record are filled with data, labs that indicate health or illness, or variations about the mean. Is this one dangerous? Is that one bad? Do I need to do something about this? Is this just a fluke?

Due to some internal restructuring, there are an enormous number of new efforts being built or overhauled that look at quality — since this reflects on patient safety — and also for the purpose of regulatory requirements and reporting.

At one meeting this week, we saw data on patient feedback on how our practices are doing, including such items as “Provider listens carefully to you,” “Clerk treats you with courtesy and respect,” and “Phone during office hours answers same day.” (Really, same day? Shouldn’t the goal be one ring or two?) full article

Danielle Ofri, The New York Times

Every doctor I know has been complaining about the growing burden of electronic busywork generated by the E.M.R., the electronic medical record. And it’s not just in our imaginations.

The hard data have been rolling in now at a steady pace. A recent study in the Annals of Family Medicine used the E.M.R. to examine the work of 142 family medicine physicians over three years. These doctors spent more than half of their time — six hours of their average 11-hour day — on the E.M.R., of which nearly an hour and a half took place after the clinic closed.

Another study, in Health Affairs, tracked the activities of 471 primary care doctors over a three-year period, and also found that E.M.R. time edged out face-to-face time with patients. full articles

Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal

In a time when almost everyone shares almost everything, the question of boundaries between a doctor and patient is thornier than ever.

Beyond the obvious no-go areas of sex and abuse, the relationship can be fraught. How do you reply to the chatty doctor who name-drops other patients—including your co-workers? Can you invite your dermatologist to dinner?

Doctors are divided on how strict the boundaries should be. Some have firm rules against socializing with patients or revealing personal details about their own lives. Others say a closer relationship can build trust and make it more likely patients will follow medical advice. The growth of social media complicates things, too, especially as a generational shift means young digital natives are entering the medical profession. full article

Fox News Health

They’re creating Word Clouds – and they say the practice is valuable for them, too, because it helps them forge their own bonds with patients.

Staff members in the ICU of St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario say the process is an economical way to alleviate a stressful time. They have incorporated Word Cloud creation into regular practice and recently studied its impact.

“It was surprisingly meaningful,” said Dr. Meredith Vanstone, an assistant professor of family medicine at McMaster University. She and her colleagues interviewed 37 relatives and 73 healthcare providers of 42 dying patients who were Word Cloud subjects. continua a leggere