A Need for Change: Insights From a Patient

I am a young cancer patient, who has been afforded an unparalleled opportunity to gain insight into a flawed healthcare delivery system. I hope to share observations and opinions I have formed over my many months of treatment.

Once a month, I visit my oncologist's office to check on the status of my illness and to make changes to my treatment regimen, as needed. With 3-4 decades to spare, I am always the youngest patient at the clinic. With a few outdated magazines and week old newspapers in the waiting room, I often am more amused by patients walking in and out rather than the provided "entertainment." It didn't take too long to notice a startling trend amongst the other patients. While my visits often ran around 30 minutes in length, other patients were ushered in and out as if they were whirling around a revolving door. At first I didn't think too much about it. I figured these patients had probably been longterm patients and the checkups became efficient and mundane for them. After a few months of visits and becoming what I would consider a longterm patient, my visits still lasted around half an hour...

In the dimly-lit and bare-walled waiting area, I began to theorize about my interesting observation. Was my situation so dire that I required extra long visits? Did the physician enjoy chatting me up compared to his other patients? Did the schedule just happen to dictate more free time around my visits?

Then IT hit me. The clinic has a strict rule against allowing patients to bring their families into the room, unless physical incapacities necessitate it. In addition, most of the older patients speak minimal to no English, as they bared with the physician's inadequate Chinese speaking skills. I, on the other hand, speak fluent English and have a solid background in science. While other patients fail to grasp what the physician is saying, not to mention their inability to understand the scientific concepts behind their illness and therapies, I always prepare a list of questions and studied my illness and therapeutic regimen carefully. Because other patients had a weak understanding of what the physician had to say, I can imagine many of them resigning to sitting quietly, waiting for the physician to conclude the visit. Not only is this an alarming trend, it is also a dangerous one. Many chemotherapy medications have strict schedules and narrow therapeutic ranges. One misstep can absolutely be fatal. In addition, these patients are not receiving the quality of care they deserve in battling such a grim illness. Understanding of the illness and therapies is unquestionably critical to a successful recovery.

This observtion has further validated my rallying call for more culturally-competent, multi-lingual health professionals. Above actual treatment, communication is key to successful healthcare delivery and successful patient recovery. While many of us strive to improve healthcare, we must not lose sight of simple things. We must be vigilant of a patient's right to know, which may necessitate the services of an interpreter. There remains a glaring need for better communication in the healthcare system. We must always remember this.

APIAHF Launches Health Information Network

I'm on a listserve on the Health Information Network, and it's free if you want to get on it and be continuously updated with the latest of what is happening in APIA Health: http://www.apiahf.org/index.php/apiahf-health-information-network.html

APIAHF Launches Health Information Network
The Health Information Network includes issue-specific listservs, allowing students, researchers and advocates a forum to share information and resources. A health organization directory will connect members of the public with organizations that serve Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders. Students, researchers and advocates will also be able to find data and research on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, in a publications database containing reports, facts sheets, data briefs, graphs and presentations, and other documents.

“One of the biggest challenges in addressing health issues in Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities is finding and distributing information about the health issues we face,” said Dr. Ho Luong Tran, president and CEO of APIAHF. “Our goal is to provide timely and accurate information to support our communities in their efforts to improve health and healthcare. The Health Information Network links our communities together and provides a gateway to lessons learned, new ideas and the knowledge base for driving change.”

The Health Information Network will provide up to date information on public health emergencies or national disasters. APIAHF is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, the National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians, (NCAPIP) and the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) to make announcements and urgent information available in Asian and Pacific Islander languages. The Health Information Network will also serve as a portal to U.S. Census data. APIAHF serves as a U.S. Census Information Center, providing population, growth, and socio-economic data for 21 Asian American and Pacific Islander sub-groups as well as for other major racial/ethnic groups in the United States.