PhotoLuminations

The misdirected debate on reforming health care gets bogged down on how much it will cost but overlooks the big picture. We should focus on the big pieces that waste the most--chronic diseases. This is where health reform can improve lives and save big money. Here's how.

Do you feel like the "man in the iron mask," a prisoner of your CPAP mask? Many people living with sleep apnea, regardless of the success of their treatment, wish they could be rid of the mask.

We need electronic health records, but we need to go beyond replacing traditional paper records.

What are the prospects that electronic health records will improve care in chronic conditions such as diabetes or sleep apnea?

Chronic conditions tend to travel together; the same person can have two or more conditions. How to manage them together?

You want to achieve wellness, a cure, or to manage a health condition.

Connected health--the use of technology to connect people to information, advice, and support-- can help consumers achieve wellness, and patients achieve better health.

What are the prospects today for enabling people living with a chronic health problem (like sleep apnea, COPD, or diabetes) to be empowered to manage their own health?

A Path to Another Country Psychologists say that moving, divorce, and the death of a loved one are three of the most difficult life transitions. Have they measured the difficulty of moving to that other country, the land of the aged?

Diabetes is dificult to manage, but we know that a person with diabetes needs to be educated, motivated, and diligent to succeed. Unfortunately, most people with diabetes do not enjoy a complete regimen of care, and don't know what they are missing.

[Jerry replies to a question from "Charles"] You wrote that you may have had apnea for 10 years and wonder what damage might have been done before you started treatment.

We are a nation asleep. Millions of Americans don't get enough restful sleep. If life were like a fairy tale, sleep disorders including sleep apnea would not still be a major public health problem.