Politico Pulse Blog Features Amy Berman's NIH Seminar on Cancer Care
Politico's August 6th Pulse Blog featured a write-up on a seminar given by Amy Berman at the National Institutes of Health, "Cancer Care: The Patient’s Role, Palliative Care, and Implications for Health Policy," which she presented on August 3rd in Bethesda, MD. A video of her presentation will be available here.
Politico's August 6th Pulse Blog featured a write-up on a seminar given by Amy Berman at the National Institutes of Health, "Cancer Care: The Patient’s Role, Palliative Care, and Implications for Health Policy," which she presented on August 3rd in Bethesda, MD. A video of her presentation will be available here.
From Politico Pulse, Aug. 6. 2012:
THE PATIENT AS CEO — Amy Berman, who works on care quality at the John A. Hartford Foundation, has spoken and written extensively about her decision not to “declare war” on her rare, advanced and aggressive breast cancer. It’s been 21 months since she opted for a palliative approach — 21 months of being well enough to work, enjoy family and even climb the Great Wall of China. Berman, in her 50s, led a webinar on palliative care, policy and patient-centered medicine at NIH. “We (patients) need to be invited into the conversation. We are not only part of the team. We are the CEO,” she said. Other key points: Doctors need to pay as much attention to the patient/family goals of care as they do to diagnosis and treatment — and they should get paid for the time they spend discussing them. You can’t have “patient-centered care” without the patient at the center. Patients don’t make “wrong choices,” but they can’t make informed choices without complete information from their care team. The money quote: Chemotherapy is “chemical warfare,” radiation is “atomic warfare” and palliative care is the “peacekeeping force.” The video will be available here: http://bit.ly/4nXav
