How Do You Rate?
In the field of statistics, a five-point rating scale is commonly used to evaluate all sorts of personal responses, feelings, and assessments. This frequently used tool is known as …
Wellness
Informed People Make Healthy Choices
Being an informed patient is an empowering concept.1 In the modern healthcare marketplace, the doctor-patient relationship has become a two-way street. It’s no longer a situation in which the doctor …
Making Sense of Guidelines for Care
Not too long ago, the Eighth Joint National Committee (originally commissioned by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) released a new set of evidence-based guidelines for evaluation and …
Out of the Past
In “Out of the Past”, one of the greatest film noir ever made, Robert Mitchum’s past inevitably catches up with him and dire consequences ensue for all involved. Are …
Paying the Mortgage
Whether we rent or own our home, all of us pay some form of monthly living expenses. Even if we have paid down a mortgage and own our home …
Peeling the Onion
In the language of statistics, health is a continuous variable. A person’s health can be expressed as an infinity of values ranging from abundant well-being to terminal states approaching …
Riding the Brakes
We’re all familiar with the highway driving experience of being behind a person who is continually braking for no apparent reason. This is especially problematic if you’re in the …
Spring Fever
Spring is near. In New York City, yellow, white, and purple crocuses have raised their cup-shaped flowers above the ground for all to see. In California, western buttercups, ground …
Straight Talk About Health Care
In 2009 there’s been lots of conversation about health care, both at the federal and state levels.1-3Not all the talk has been friendly. Those favoring broad reforms describe serious …
Turn Your Medicine Chest into a First-Aid Cabinet
Many people have medicine chests in their bathroom, small shelving units filled with bottles of pills, capsules, and tablets. Others, instead, have first-aid and personal grooming cabinets in their …