Just saw the first installment of this four-part PBS series on fixing the broken US health care system. Check your local listings to catch the other episodes.
Remaking American Medicine – Health Care for the 21st Century
From the site:
PROGRAM 1 – SILENT KILLER profiles individuals who are committed to fixing a health care system that is estimated to kill up to 98,000 people a year.
PROGRAM 2 – FIRST DO NO HARM focuses on efforts to eliminate hospital-acquired infections and medication errors.
PROGRAM 3 – THE STEALTH EPIDEMIC looks at groundbreaking efforts to create effective chronic disease management programs.
PROGRAM 4 – HAND IN HAND shows how a unique partnership between patients, families and providers is transforming a teaching hospital.
They have even created a detailed, informational companion site. Please check it out:
Includes an episode guide, patient tools and resources, becoming an empowered patient or caregiver, and the 100,000 lives campaign.
I’ve just starting skimming the site but would encourage EVERYONE (other countries, too) to at least read these two pages:
Top Ten Quality Indicators of an Effective Patient- and Family-Centered Physician
(ways you can evaluate your doctor today)
Top Ten Things a Patient or Family Member can do to Ensure Quality Care
(ways to get involved to improve your care)
I’m hoping to post more about this in the future. Helping women receive better care for uterine fibroids falls right under this “things are kind of broken” umbrella. Things must change. Not just in the US but globally. We all can help.
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Related Posts:
How do I find a good local fibroid doctor?
How do I evaluate or rate a fibroid doctor?
What questions should I ask my fibroid doctor?
PBS American Experience – Test Tube Babies (story of IVF research in the US)
inquisitive geek with fibroid tumors ™ blog 
October 7, 2006 at 5:36 pm
I didn’t know that they were running this series. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks!
October 13, 2006 at 9:30 pm
The first program was very good but I’m most impressed by the tremendous amount of information on the web site. It gives patients the tools to improve the care they receive from the medical system. I feel obligated to promote it.