Here’s a Guest Blog by another (new) friend I met through the Blogathon, Laura Newman. Enjoy, and please leave an encouraging comment!
Virtual Connections Bring New Friendships, Expand Audience
I met Billie in early May because we are both in the Word Count Blogathon, where we are both trying to blog every day this month. I blog at PatientPOV but I am learning that Billie and I have a lot in common. We both want to be part of making healthcare sensitive to patients. By the time you read this post, Billie’s post about trying to help her deaf friend get decent healthcare, when it is difficult to find an interpreter at the hospital or physicians’ office, will be up on my blog.
Through Lisa Carter, a language translator participating in the blogathon, I learned about a group in Texas that is concerned about patients who don’t speak English. What happens when they come in for care? Are mistakes made? Are patients hurt? You guessed right: there have been mistakes made, missed diagnoses, and inability to communicate signs and symptoms.
I also met a blogger who wrote about women who have cesarean sections, who blogged about making that the best experience for moms.
I love hearing patient stories about what happens when you go to the doctor that might point to better ways for patient care.
I don’t see myself as an ambulance chaser, trying to raise Cain about a hospital or particular doctor.
I am independent. Besides, I think if people have stories that show problems, maybe those stories could be used to change the way we all get care, instead of just turn into a lawsuit, which often yields little value for the rest of us.
I don’t expect I would have ever met Billie, if it wasn’t for this blogathon, also accessible on Twitter at #blog2011. Each day we are sharing our posts on a listserve and meeting each other. This is a nice cul de sac for finding each other and making connections that we never would have made otherwise.
Thank you Billie for introducing me to your blog, which I am now reading daily. And you who are reading this, if you’ve got something to say about how you feel when you go to the doctor or how your chronic illness is being managed that can point to a better way for patient care, please send me an email at patientpov “at” gmail “dot” com. You can read my blog here. Please take some time to share your point of view there, if you have a chance.
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