Dr Chiaramonte's Afterword in the book 'Fixing American Healthcare'

Embracing the Winter Blues

Navigating the Healthcare System

Who's Afraid of the Empowered Patient? (published in JAMA)

Staying Healthy and Safe:

• Do not ignore these symptoms
• Using your thoughts to improve your mood
• Recognizing stroke - You only have 3 hours to save your brain
• Cell phones and cancer - A new reason to worry?
• The dirty dozen: The 12 fruits and veggies you should definitely buy Organic
• Fire Safety...
• Sun safety: Protect yourself...
• How to stay safe at the pool, lake or beach
• Baltimore's best healthcare gems
• Severe Nausea: One troubling cause
• Preventing Sudden Cardiac Death: Beyond statins and aspirin
• Sleep Apnea: When snoring is more than just annoying
• Nighttime Sniffles: Creepier than you think

Navigating the Healthcare System:

• Getting a second opinion
• Eight ways to help a friend who is ill
• Getting the most from your doctors

The State of Our Healthcare System:

• Hope for the healthcare system?
• Do U.S. doctors ration healthcare?
• Does the 15 minute doctor visit really work?
• Prescription drug mishaps cause a shocking number of deaths
• Doctors and patients - can the relationship be saved?
• What being sued does to a doctor
• Medical information -n tainted or pure?
• Chronic diseases: Rethinking our rusty magic bullets
• Is your nurse a doctor? how physician assistants and nurse practitioners are changing primary care
• Electronic medical records - A great idea gone wrong

Cancer Care:

• Screening for prostate cancer - Making sense of muddy waters
• A breast MRI helped Christina Applegate - Could it help you too?
• Helping a friend through cancer - Dos and Don'ts
• Malignant Glioma - Neither money nor power can protect you

Infections:

• Flu Facts
• West nile virus: Mosquitoes are more than just an annoyance
• A serious side effect of antibiotics - Could this happen to you?
• When food is dangerous: A primer on foodborne illness
• Lyme disease - Don't panic, just get informed

Senior Health:

• When the tables turn: What to do as your parents age
• Depression in older people - Common and often misdiagnosed

Children's Health:

• Top health tips for back to school children
• Sleep deprivation in children - Bratty or just tired?
• Gymnastics vs family dinners? Where should we draw the line?
• Of course babies feel pain
• Cholesterol - Should we be testing our children?
• Guns and kids. Safety rules
• Pool drains - A hazard you might not have considered
• Childhood obesity - What parents can do
• Measles: A disease of the past or a disease of the future?
• Lice: An elementary school plague
• Bike helmets - Just do it.

Advance Directives

Creating an effective relationship with your doctor

Educating yourself about cancer

Finding peace no matter what life sends your way

Guided Imagery

Headache

Making Medical Decisions

Managing Stress in the Real World

Managing Your Medical Information

Medical speak: Understanding your doctor

Navigating the Health Care System

Stress effect on health

Talking to Kids about Cancer