On Nov. 1, I invited two health care professions to join me to discuss a topic I’m passionate about and have written about here several times—patient empowerment.

Barbara Lewis, host of WFYI’s Sound Medicine and Inside Indiana Business, moderated this talk on the IUPUI campus. Several students and faculty attended—including some physicians.

Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Indiana University School of Medicine, Dr. Lee Learman discussed the importance of communication between patients and physicians. Dr. Learman (more)

How many of you have felt cheated after leaving a medical appointment? Your complaint may be about a shortage of time, or the doctor talking mumble jumble (med talk that you don’t understand), or simply leaving with another handful of prescriptions without precisely understanding what’s changed.

Ask yourself, though, how much of this is your own fault?

I know what you’re probably thinking. “Lorene, you weren’t there and don’t understand the situation.” Well, I have been there many times myself. I (more)

We live in a society where we can “purchase” science for one of the most important aspects of our lives, our bodies. And we often pay nothing for it, or at the least no money changes hands at the time of our “purchase.”

Where else can you do this when you don’t pay with cash, a check or credit card? Instead, if you have a Medicare card, you just hand it over and expect to get service. It’s really amazing when (more)