Monday, August 23, 2004
Safety Dance
I just got back from visiting my grandparents for the weekend...my grandmother fell and broke her hip. So, falls and patient safety/care quality (they live in the semi-rural Midwest, where health care is...uhm...not as good as I'd like) are on my mind. Lo and behold, two articles!
The University of Washington reports that old people who wear sneakers (which, I note, both of my grandmothers refuse to do) are significantly less likely to fall. Other shoe types were associated with a 30% increased risk, while walking barefoot was even worse. I guess this means I will be going shoe shopping for my grandmothers soon. Oh joy.
British researchers have found that email communication between doctors and patients has serious potential (summary here) to improve the quality of that relationship and care overall, not to mention cutting costs. Even my grandparents use email, and it would be preferable for them to get info from doctors that way, since they often have trouble understanding and remembering what they hear (emails can be kept and/or forwarded to me for interpretation). Very interesting!
The University of Washington reports that old people who wear sneakers (which, I note, both of my grandmothers refuse to do) are significantly less likely to fall. Other shoe types were associated with a 30% increased risk, while walking barefoot was even worse. I guess this means I will be going shoe shopping for my grandmothers soon. Oh joy.
British researchers have found that email communication between doctors and patients has serious potential (summary here) to improve the quality of that relationship and care overall, not to mention cutting costs. Even my grandparents use email, and it would be preferable for them to get info from doctors that way, since they often have trouble understanding and remembering what they hear (emails can be kept and/or forwarded to me for interpretation). Very interesting!
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