By Dr. James Aw The patient, in his early 20’s, was clinically depressed and struggled with sleep. His family physician prescribed him an antidepressant and medication to treat his insomnia. But his mood wasn’t lifting, and his sleep wasn’t improving. He had difficulty at school and was on a waiting list to see a psychiatrist. […]
Patient Care
Waging All-Out War on Cancer
Cancer in the Middle East is on the rise. By 2030, experts predict that the incidence of cancer will double from 2012, thanks to factors such as comparatively limited access to quality health care and detrimental lifestyle choices. I had the honor earlier this summer of speaking at the War on Cancer Middle East 2018, […]
What to Expect When We’re Expecting You
Patients from all over the world trust Johns Hopkins to provide high-quality care and the latest treatments. While we match each patient with the best clinicians and caregivers to meet their unique needs, we understand that receiving medical care in another country can be stressful. We recently produced this new video to let international patients […]
A Story of Resounding Hope
Each year at Johns Hopkins Medicine International, we welcome about 4,500 patients who travel from all over the world, trusting us to coordinate every aspect of their care while they’re receiving treatment at Johns Hopkins. Let me share one patient’s story: Mateo was born May 14, 2014, in Mexico City after a complication-free pregnancy and […]
When Local Care Can’t Do It All
When you’re ill, it’s a struggle just to change out of your pajamas or heat up a cup of tea. Going into work is out of the question. For patients who are critically ill, traveling for care can feel unbearable. Patients would rather receive treatment locally, where they have family support and can recuperate in […]
What’s Behind the Pursuit for Excellence?
By Dr. Nelson Novarro At the most recent Johns Hopkins Medicine International Partners Forum, I had the pleasure of presenting Pacífica Salud Hospital Punta Pacífica’s (HPP) journey to open a stroke center of excellence. We successfully opened the center last June, but our journey certainly wasn’t an easy one. We began to discuss the possibility […]
Unraveling Irrationality in Heath Care
Reasoning defines human intelligence, yet we all too often make choices that utterly defy logic. We’re impatient or irrational—or both—even when it comes to ensuring our own good health. An earlier post covered the huge risk of overprescribing antibiotics. Overuse exposes patients to potentially dangerous side effects, wastes resources, increases antibiotic resistance and spurs the […]
Deadly Resistance
Dr. Sara Cosgrove The Scottish physician Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928. Since then, antibiotics have transformed modern medicine and saved millions of lives by killing or slowing the growth of the bacteria that cause conditions such as bronchitis and pneumonia. However, shortly after winning the Nobel Prize in 1945, Fleming issued this warning in […]
One for the Record Books
On May 11, 2016, Pacifica Salud Hospital Punta Pacifica made history by performing the first successful heart transplant in Panama. For the two years leading up to this event, Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI) worked with our affiliate Pacifica Salud behind the scenes, providing guidance in clinical programs, staff development, quality and patient safety. As […]
Localizing Clinical Care
Health care is a competitive business. Hospitals often invest in their clinical programs as a way to distinguish themselves in an increasingly tough marketplace. Hospitals offer clinical programs, such as emergency services, to compete directly for patients. Others use some services as a stepping stone leading to other in-demand care, for example, launching cardiac catheterization […]