Our Top 4 Most ‘Liked’ Health Care Stories
This week is Real World Health Care’s one-year anniversary. Over the past year, we showcased solutions that are proven to lower costs, increase access, and provide more patient-centered care. In celebration of this milestone, we are sharing the favorite posts as measured by Facebook ‘likes’ from our readers, who have visited the blog over 10,000 times.
#4 – Keeping Boston Strong: How Disaster Training at Osteopathic Medical School Helped Save Lives
In May, former RWHC editor Paul DeMiglio told the story of Dr. Danielle Deines’ emergency response to the Boston Marathon bombing. Dr. Deines’ education at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine – Virginia Campus (VCOM) required her to participate in a two-day, mandatory training curriculum on Bioterrorism and Disaster Response Program, which immersed her in real-life disaster training, field exercises and specialized courses.
(Photo courtesy of VCOM)
The day of the bombing, after crossing the finish line, Dr. Deines found herself triaging runners in medical tents to make room for the victims. “The back corner became the most severe triage area, nearest the entrance where the ambulances were arriving,” she said. “I saw victims with traumatic amputations of the lower extremities, legs that had partially severed or had shrapnel embedded, and clothing and shoes literally blown off of victims’ bodies.”
Read the post: http://www.realworldhealthcare.org/2013/05/keeping-boston-strong-how-disaster-training-at-osteopathic-medical-school-helped-save-lives/
#3 – Making Life Easier for Patients and Loved Ones: Meet MyHealthTeams
In April, Eric Peacock, Co-founder and CEO of MyHealthTeams, contributed a guest blog about the need for social networks for communities of people living with chronic conditions. These networks allow patients to “share recommendations of local providers, openly discuss daily triumphs and issues, share tips and advice, and gain access to local services,” he wrote.
“Sharing with people who are in your shoes offers a sense of community that can’t be found elsewhere – these are people who know the language of your condition; they understand the daily frustrations and the small triumphs that can mean so much,” he added.
Read the post: http://www.realworldhealthcare.org/2013/04/making-life-easier-for-patients-and-loved-ones-meet-myhealthteams/
#2 – When the Health Care Blogger Becomes the Cancer Patient
In August, even as she was still undergoing daily radiation treatments, contributor Linda Barlow shared her personal story of being diagnosed with cancer and the slew of medical bills she faced even though she had insurance.
Linda Barlow
“While these out of pocket costs are certainly hard to swallow – I can think of a hundred other things I’d rather spend my money on – for my family, they are doable,” she wrote. “We won’t have to skip a mortgage payment or a utility bill. We won’t have to dip into a child’s college tuition fund. We certainly won’t have to worry about having enough money for food. But I know – from my work on this blog and with its main sponsor, the HealthWell Foundation – that many families living with cancer aren’t so lucky.”
Read the post: http://www.realworldhealthcare.org/2013/08/when-the-health-care-blogger-becomes-the-cancer-patient/
#1 – What If You Want Politicians to Get Moving But You Can’t Move?
Neil Cavuto
Last week, Neil Cavuto, Senior Vice President and Anchor, Fox News and Fox Business, contributed a moving guest post about his triumphs over multiple sclerosis (MS) for MS Awareness Week. His deeply personal blog inspired resounding praise in the comments section and 1,300 Facebook ‘likes’.
“If I can pass along any advice at all, it is…to simply never accept a prognosis as is,” he wrote. “Fight it. Challenge it. ‘Will’ yourself over it. Many doctors say it’s a naïve approach to the disease, but attitude counts a lot for me with MS, as it did for me two decades ago when I was battling advanced Hodgkin’s Disease. Then, as now, it was about one day at a time, and staying optimistic and positive all the time.”
Read the post: http://www.realworldhealthcare.org/2014/03/ms-awareness-week/
If you would like to suggest a topic, contribute a guest post, or learn more about short-term co-sponsorship opportunities, please contact us at dsheon@WHITECOATstrategies.com. As a blog currently sponsored solely by the HealthWell Foundation, an independent non-profit providing nationwide financial assistance to insured Americans with high out-of-pocket medication expenses, co-sponsorship helps us keep Real World Health Care alive and well as a resource for journalists, health care professionals, policymakers, and patients. Plus, co-sponsorship will increase your organization’s visibility among thought leaders in the health care sphere.
Do you have a favorite Real World Health Care post? Is there something you’d like to see more of? Post to the comments section or tweet at us at @RWHCblog.