Society for Participatory Medicine
Journal of Participatory Medicine
Narratives
We welcome submissions for this section of JoPM. Narratives are essays that showcase patients and providers and demonstrate examples of participatory medicine in action. If you are interested in submitting a narrative, you may do so here.
Narratives, Vol. 4, 2012
Waiting Room Remedy: Doctor Pays for Delays (The Doctor’s Perspective)
The author, a physician, tackles the problem of long wait times at doctors’ offices, offering a solution that shows respect for patients while urging both parties to take responsibility.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
The Patient Will See You Now
Pressure that physicians feel to maintain a good business model threatens to overlook a critical part of our “product.” In health care, the patient’s story and the relationship have ironically become the obstacle, rather than the objective.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
Three Sisters, One Voice
This is the story of a family in crisis and how a unique model of participatory medicine enabled three sisters (two patients and their advocate) to achieve vastly improved medical management of a congenital brain disease and comorbid conditions.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
More Support and Information Needed for Getting off Psych Drugs
Concerned about the long-term dangers of psychiatric drugs, the author decided to discontinue his antidepressant. He discovered that it is very common for people to run into numerous problems when trying to discontinue psych drugs. Very little information, assistance, or support is available for doing this.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
A Resident’s View: What Does It Mean for a Resident Physician to Be Participatory?
On the backdrop of an amazingly intense work environment is thrust a new movement, led by patients and providers alike, asking simply, “How we can do better through participatory medicine?”
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
Women’s Wellness Guide Kiosks: Empowering Women to Take Charge of Their Health
The Women’s Wellness Guide is a program that uses computerized kiosks in public places to deliver relevant, understandable information on a variety of women’s health topics. It reaches out to women who are often overlooked by the health care system: Those without the time, money, or other resources to access doctors and other sources of medical information.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
A Breath of Hope for LAM Patients: The Relentless Pursuit to Defy the Odds
The author explores the participatory approach of LAM Foundation, which was founded to support patients and spearhead research into a rare illness. The Founation’s achievements were recognized in a recent issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) which also included a research article about the first oral drug treatment for LAM.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
Empowered Patient — Empowered Lifestyle
The author relates how she deals with bipolar disorder, in particular side-effects of medication such as weight gain and lowered self-esteem. At the core of her strategy is a collaborative approach to seeking help from psychiatrists and psychotherapists.
Read MoreFeatured Podcast, Multimedia, Narratives, Podcasts, Vol. 3, 2011
Hacking Health: Designing for and Understanding My Health
When confronted with a shockingly high number during a routine cholesterol check at work, the author realized that he knew nothing about his own health metrics. The experience led him to develop a tool called HealthCard, which he explains in this presentation.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
A Physician’s Experience as a Cancer of the Neck Patient: The Importance of Patient Participation
My hope is that relating my experiences as a physician who experienced medical care from the other side of the stethoscope will help other patients, their family members, and caregivers recognize the importance of active involvement in their own care. Active involvement can help prevent medical errors and facilitate recovery.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
Chicken Wing: A Patient’s Journey from Depression to Fulfillment
The author tells the story of her youth, which was marked by debilitating depression, and how she now lives a fulfilling adult life, thanks to the strong support of well-chosen friends and her own determination to be happy.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
Psychosis Possibly Linked to an Occupational Disease: An e-Patient’s Participatory Approach to Consideration of Etiologic Factors
As an individual who has experienced psychotic episodes, the author believes that the emergence of participatory concepts in mental health care can empower consumers to become engaged in recognizing symptoms, selecting treatment options, and working in partnership with providers to develop illness self-management recovery programs.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
Integrating a Physical Office with an Online Platform to Improve Continuity of Care and Expand Patient-Physician Communication
This article describes a medical practice that was designed from scratch to fully integrate office and online systems, based on the hypothesis that improving health outcomes requires redesigning the care delivery paradigm so that it empowers both patients and physicians.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 3, 2011
Armchair Advocacy for Tuberous Sclerosis Complex: A Patient’s Perspective
This narrative summarizes the experiences of a young professional woman with two chronic illnesses, and how her decision to take charge of her own care changed her life.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 2, 2010
Judy Feder: Narrative of a Breast Cancer e-Patient
I’ve been an e-patient for more than seven years, beginning within weeks of my diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. I didn’t know how rich, transformative and even lifesaving being an e-patient would be.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 2, 2010
Improving the Process of Medical Decision Making: An Example from Palliative Care
In America, we often do a terrible job of managing the death process. Some 80% of Americans die either in the hospital or in nursing homes, deprived of the knowledge and information they need to manage their own deaths, unaware of their options. However, if asked, patients tend to reject aggressive treatment in favor of gentler care aimed at minimizing symptoms.
Read MoreNarratives, Vol. 1, 2009
“Here’s the Story: …” Essential Elements of Essential Narratives About Health Care
The Narrative Matters section of the health policy journal Health Affairs publishes compelling first-person essays called “policy narratives.” Unlike other types of medical narratives, the health-related stories published in Narrative Matters incorporate issues related to health care policy, helping policymakers to see the human consequences of their actions. This is the story behind Narrative Matters and how it works.
Read More
Hacking Health: Designing for and Understanding My Health
Participatory Medicine: Opportunities and Threats
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