Reflections to Bring Back to Vermont – Day 2

Some things to bring back to Vermont:

  1. Transparency, transparency, transparency. Shared decision making and informed consent are a patient’s right. This includes the physician’s qualifications and a thorough explanation of the risks and benefits of any procedure. Along with that, patients should be informed that 2nd opinions are readily available.
  2. When walking through the shared decision process with patients, a recording of the conversation can really help the patient make an informed decision.
  3. Remembering Aristotle’s Ethos, Logos, and Pathos will help us the negotiations we deal with daily. Also, knowing that their is a difference between someone’s position and interests.
  4. Over 400,000 deaths occur yearly in the US due to medical error. This is a staggering number, and John Nance made a point to argue that if that was the number in any other industry, then that industry would be under much larger pressure to change.
  5. Per John Nance, “This is the way it’s always been” are the most dangerous words in medicine.