By Craig R. Engesser, Associate Director, Healthcare Alliance Development

It’s no secret that chronic pain is a highly individualized problem. Pain affects each of us in its own unique way, making it both a highly subjective experience as well as one that can be frustrating. The latter can be true for both the patient and the healthcare provider who is being asked to help the patient address the pain. It is not always easy for a patient to clearly describe the pain he or she is experiencing, and it’s not always easy for the healthcare provider to clearly understand what the patient is describing.

So with that in mind, here are some tips for helping you have a better dialogue with your physician so that he or she can better understand what you are experiencing in terms of pain— and therefore be in a better position to treat it effectively. Read Full Article »

By Kimberley Tiller, RN, MPH, Associate Director, Healthcare Alliance Development

If asked the question “What do you hold most dear in your life?” most of us would probably answer “my family and my health.” Yet, most people take better care of their cars than they do their bodies. I thought of this as I dropped my car off this morning for its four-month checkup while yesterday I called my doctor’s office to reschedule an appointment that has already been postponed for two years! Read Full Article »

By Gina M. Barbarotto, MS, MBA, Associate Director, Healthcare Alliance Development

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1-7 in more than 120 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) policymakers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is the best way to provide newborns with the nutrients they need. The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old and continued breastfeeding with the addition of nutritious complementary foods for up to two years or beyond.ihttp://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_breastfeeding_week/en/index.html. Accessed April 28, 2011. Read Full Article »

News from the Journal of Pain
Published by the American Pain Society

The frequency of analgesic drug errors in hospitals is nearly 3 per 1,000 prescriptions, based on a study performed in a 631‐bed tertiary care facility and published in The Journal of Pain, the peer‐review journal of the American Pain Society. Read Full Article »

By Kimberly Tiller, RN, MPH, Associate Director, Healthcare Alliance Development

Think of everything you do during your day. Try to guess which activity is so important that you should devote one‐third of your time to doing it. Probably the first things that come to mind are working, spending time with your family, or pursuing leisure activities. But there’s something else you should be doing about one‐third of your time: sleeping. Read Full Article »