Blog Archives
Break Glass in Case of Emergency The Healthcare System Unlocked (Proceed with Caution and Caffeine!)
Jennifer Riggs’ Break Glass in Case of Emergency is a witty, sharp, and practical guide through the twisted maze of the American healthcare system. Written with candor and a splash of humor, this book tackles everything from health insurance jargon and hospital chaos to navigating Medicare, Medicaid, and senior care options. It’s part how-to manual, part insider exposé, and part comic relief. Riggs—drawing on her experience as a healthcare executive—shares war stories and hard-won tips in a voice that feels less like a policy lecture and more like a savvy friend guiding you through a bureaucratic jungle.
Reading this book was like being handed the cheat codes to a game I didn’t even know I was playing. I appreciated how Riggs translated mind-numbing insurance language into something I could actually understand without having to Google every third word. She doesn’t sugarcoat the confusion or the frustration that comes with trying to get care, get reimbursed, or just find the right specialist. And yet, she does it all with a kind of dry humor that made me laugh more than once. The stories made me feel seen in the absurdity of it all. The advice is solid, realistic, and rooted in lived experience, not some idealistic “best practices” list.
What really stuck with me wasn’t just the clever tips or the “aha” explanations. It was Riggs’ obvious passion for empowering regular people—especially caregivers and families of seniors—to advocate for themselves. There’s an emotional thread running through the chapters, especially when she writes about aging parents and the invisible labor of caregiving. She writes like someone who’s been in the room when decisions go wrong and wants you to avoid the same heartache. Her blend of empathy and sarcasm hits just right, especially when she takes aim at the red tape and passive-aggressive chaos baked into the system.
Break Glass in Case of Emergency is not the book you dream of reading on a beach, but it is absolutely the book you’ll be glad you read before the next medical crisis hits. It’s a gift for anyone dealing with the stress of insurance, elder care, or just trying to make sense of their benefits. I’d recommend it to caregivers, adult children of aging parents, anyone turning 65, and frankly, anyone who’s ever stared at a medical bill and thought, “This can’t be real.” It’s like getting the behind-the-scenes tour of a haunted house before you go in—terrifying, but way less scary when someone hands you a flashlight and says, “Here’s what to watch out for.”
Pages: 233 | ASIN : B0F9MDQ42T
Cancer Culture: Fixing the Landscape by Infusing Empathy
Cancer Culture: Fixing the Landscape by Infusing Empathy by Jacqueline Acho, PhD, is a heartfelt and profoundly insightful memoir that navigates the complex and often overwhelming journey of a cancer diagnosis. Drawing from her own experiences with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, Acho weaves together personal anecdotes, scientific knowledge, and a powerful call for empathy in cancer care. The book is structured into several parts, each delving into different aspects of cancer treatment, patient empowerment, and the emotional and spiritual lessons gleaned from living with cancer.
Acho’s writing is both deeply personal and universally relatable, making the reader feel intimately connected to her journey. Her ability to convey the importance of empathy in the medical field is compelling. One of the most striking features of the book is Acho’s honesty about the failures and successes of current cancer treatments. She candidly discusses the limitations of chemotherapy and the lack of progress in cancer research despite significant investments. Her critique of the “cancer industrial complex” is eye-opening and urges readers to reconsider the systemic issues within healthcare. Acho’s exploration of alternative and complementary therapies is another strong point of the book. She details her experiences with various non-toxic cancer therapies, providing valuable insights for those seeking holistic approaches to treatment. This chapter is a treasure trove of information for anyone looking to supplement conventional treatments with alternative methods, emphasizing the importance of a balanced, integrative approach to cancer care.
Cancer Culture: Fixing the Landscape by Infusing Empathy is an essential read for anyone touched by cancer, whether directly or through a loved one. Acho’s memoir is not just a recount of her battle with cancer but a manifesto for change in how we approach cancer treatment and care. Her emphasis on empathy, holistic health, and the integration of personal and professional experiences provides a comprehensive guide for patients, caregivers, and medical professionals. This book is particularly valuable for those newly diagnosed healthcare providers looking to enhance their empathetic practices and anyone interested in the broader systemic issues of cancer care.
Pages: 373 | ASIN : B0D1X1YNFB
Entertain and Educate
Digital Medical Home: The Telemedicine Revolution Ignited the Creation of Precision Health examines the progression of telemedicine and how it has impacted the quality of health care as well as the future possibilities for patient care. Why was this an important book for you to write?
Telemedicine took a very long time from its inception to becoming mainstream. The journey was filled with challenges and surprises that would entertain many readers, teach entrepreneurs, and educate the reader. Dr Sanders, the Father of Telemedicine, is now 86, and we wanted to record his story while he was young and sharp enough to relay it in a meaningful way.
This is such a fast-changing field, both from the medical side and the technology side. How much research did you undertake for this book, and how much time did it take to put it all together?
The book took three months to write. It is intentionally short because we wanted to hold the reader’s attention in a concise document. Dr. Sanders and I (Michael Gorton) lived the history, so research was more about pulling old notes, emails, and documents.
Did you find anything in your research of this book that surprised you?
Again, we lived the history, so the main surprise is just how little people are aware of the history. Interestingly, acceptance of telemedicine has grown exponentially, as shown by an ATA study two years ago. See graph:
What is one thing that you hope readers take away from Digital Medical Home?
The story and history are great, but mostly, we wanted to entertain and educate.
This book shares the many tales that led to the Telemedicine revolution and brought us to where we are today. Now, with the Digital Medical Home, technology will deliver care, labs and sometimes treatment to wherever the patient is, not where the doctor is. This new platform will continuously monitor data, and catch things before they become dangerous and expensive. Find out how technology can create patient empowerment and enhanced personalization of health care.
Digital Medical Home
In the ever-evolving landscape of medicine, recent decades have witnessed advancements so profound they border on the fantastical. The exponential growth and transformation of healthcare over the past half-century teem with inspiring tales of innovation and human endeavor. And to think, we are just beginning to uncover the potential interplay between technology and healthcare.
Digital Medical Home: The Telemedicine Revolution Ignited the Creation of Precision Health masterfully stitches together the captivating chronicles that underpin the rise of telemedicine. Beyond merely portraying a shift from traditional medical practices, the authors illuminate a vision of healthcare unfettered by the physicality of clinics or hospitals. Telemedicine, as portrayed, emerges as a vigilant sentinel, ever-watchful, and dedicated to our well-being. Entrepreneurs and visionaries will find the narratives especially enriching, replete with insights that kindle enthusiasm.
Delving into this book is akin to embarking on an exhilarating odyssey into the heart of the telemedicine culture. The authors’ prose is engrossing, effortlessly drawing readers into a dialogue that elucidates complex concepts in a manner digestible to newcomers and seasoned professionals alike. One can palpably sense the authors’ fervor and profound expertise on every page, making for a truly immersive experience.
A salient feature of this work is its harmonious blend of real-life case studies with incisive reflections. This tapestry of tales and insights paints a compelling illustration of how telemedicine is revolutionizing healthcare paradigms. These authentic stories not only enlighten but invigorate the reader’s spirit. Venturing beyond mere possibilities, the book delves deeply into the nuances, trends, and guidelines that shape this burgeoning field, crafting a tome that is both an illuminating guide and a captivating journey.
Digital Medical Home: The Telemedicine Revolution Ignited the Creation of Precision Health is a universal call to readers. Whether you’re a seasoned healthcare professional, a policy aficionado, or simply intrigued by the future of healthcare, this book emerges as an engrossing discourse on the promise of telemedicine. The authors’ dedication to thorough research is evident, and their narrative prowess is undeniable.
For those intrigued by the dynamic nexus of technology and healthcare, and the potential for a more tailored, patient-centric approach to treatment, this book offers a veritable treasure trove of insights. In its pages, innovation and empathy meld, heralding a paradigm shift in medical practice. It is not just a book—it’s a testament to the transformative potential of telemedicine in today’s MedTech evolution.
Pages: 142 | ASIN : B0BMM7LLH6
Fifty Shades of Gray Matter
Imagine if Dr. Derek Shepherd and Dr. Gregory House had a baby. Dr. Teresella Gondolo would be the result. In her hallowed space, tales of perplexing symptoms and peculiar behaviors unfold like the pages of an intricate novel, chronicling days, months, and years of daunting medical mysteries. She welcomes the unusual like House and handles each case with the expertise of Shepherd. In a mesmerizing dance between patients and their families, an unassuming office becomes a sanctuary for the extraordinary.
She narrates stories of patients who visit her office with worry lines etched on their faces and sadness in their eyes. A virtuoso of the medical realm, Dr. Gondolo is audience to a wide range of human conditions. She bravely encounters a number of neurological conditions and allows the reader into her office as she treats each one of them.
Dr. Gondolo tells her stories with the flair of a pen-driven Picasso. Her passion for her work is obvious in her writing. Bound within the pages of Fifty Shades of Gray Matter are segments each different from the other. These sections give voice to narratives that resonate with strength and simplicity, occasionally revealing the tender hues of her own life’s canvas. She is not afraid to let a little bit of herself peer through the lines.
This book is the perfect treat for lovers of medical shows. It is the literary equivalent of Grey’s Anatomy woven with House MD episodes. Like a medical MacGyver, she accurately highlights the urgency of her cases and the technical artistry it takes to diagnose and treat before the patient runs out of time or deteriorates beyond the point of no return. Fifty Shades of Gray Matter is much more than an interesting read–it is an experience. Dr. Gondolo’s grasp of imagery and the writing craft creates mental images that put the reader right in the room with her looking into the eyes of her patients or leafing through medical files.
Dr. Gondolo understands that the magic of clarity holds the key to reader engagement. Just as she peers into a patient’s eyes and deciphers their ailment, she gazes into her readers’ minds and tailors her prose with precision. My only wish is that the sketches at the end of the chapters would come at the beginning instead. Otherwise, she has written a wonderful collection of stories.
As readers take in her last commentary on mortality, there will be a resounding verdict: Fifty Shades of Gray Matter is an eloquent tapestry of wisdom and wonder, masterfully woven by an insightful physician who intertwines her patients’ chronicles with the threads of her own narrative. Dr. Teresella Gondolo has taken what could be a boring series of M&M conferences and bound them into playful yet serious bits of intriguing stories. She does not mean to entertain, but she will keep you glued to the pages to the very end.
Pages: 335 | ASIN : B0C3WH6GJJ
LITERARY TITAN 