Over the past decade, Dr. Gazelle has been extensively quoted and published online, in print, on television and the radio. Media covering Dr. Gazelle includes:

Someone On Your Side
This article explains the usefulness of patient advocacy, the various ways a patient advocate can help a caregiver or person with an illness, and how to find the right patient advocate for you. MD Can Help is one of the featured patient advocacy practices.

You’ve Got Cancer. Now What?
Dr. Gazelle shares tips on how to cope if you or someone you love is diagnosed with cancer.

Participatory medicine: A high-tech alliance with patients
Participatory medicine is a new “buzz word” for a type of patient advocacy. In this article, Dr. Gazelle notes “presenting information in a conversational way, as opposed to a way that portrays the physician as the boss, can make for more productive interactions.” “When given all the facts, patients and doctors usually reach a well-informed, mutual decision. Technology, she said, is just one way in which patients can become engaged in their care. Physicians can engage patients simply by changing the way they talk to patients.”

Survey Finds Doctors and Nurses Still Behaving Badly
In an article about physicians not treating nurses as equals, Dr. Gazelle was quoted: “Much of this stems from the different ways doctors and nurses are trained. Doctors are taught from the beginning that they are the head of the team, that they are better than nurses, that the skill set of nurses is inferior to their own. This leaves them feeling entitled to put down nurses and mistrust their judgment.” “Nurses need to feel empowered to take on the over-arching authority of physicians and see themselves as equal partners in the care of patients,” Gazelle added. “Some of this can be in the nursing curriculum and much is on-the-job. Obviously, for the latter, nurses need institutional backing for this to be successful and, fortunately, a number of initiatives have come to the fore.”

Alzheimer's Murder Case a Glimpse Into Stresses of Caretaking
In an article about the murder of an elderly man with Alzheimer’s, Dr. Gazelle speaks about how difficult it is for people caring for someone with Alzheimer’s or any other form of dementia. "The demands on caregivers are almost unfathomable. The anger, guilt, and shame that caregivers experience is intense."

A New Approach to Patient Advocacy
In a feature story about MD Can Help, six basic functions of Dr. Gazelle’s patient advocacy work are highlighted: “1) making sure you are treated well; 2) acting as a sounding board when new issues arise; 3) serving as a second pair of ears to take in information; 4) paying attention to details; 5) ensuring that errors are not made; and 6) seeing that things come out as well as they possibly can."

Cancer Medication Errors Still a Problem
In a story about the high incidence of errors in cancer therapy, Dr. Gazelle is quoted: “We’re used to patients being passive recipients of the care we provide. Until we empower them to partner with us to improve the quality of their care, efforts toward improving patient safety will have limited success."

Fear a Layoff? Don't Make These Health Care Mistakes
In an article about what to do if you know you are soon to become unemployed, Dr. Gazelle proposes novel strategies such as bartering with your doctor and requesting a reduced fee.

Norwell VNA discusses new Hospice program
The addition of Dr. Gazelle to the staff of the new Norwell VNA hospice program is announced.

Brookline physician launches patient advocacy practice
Patient advocacy by MD Can Help is featured in a local venue. A former client writes: “Dr. Gazelle was truly the guide to get you there when you don’t know what to do,” said Barbara Leary, a Westford resident who turned to the doctor when her late husband was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease.“She was our savior in many ways, Leary said. “I don’t know how long it would have taken us to figure it all out on our own. We probably would have been too late."

Empathy Deficit Disorder: Fact or Fiction?
In this NPR radio interview, Dr. Gazelle is asked to comment about how to help people put themselves in someone else’s shoes. She notes the importance of empathy in all human relationships, and the impact of lack of empathy on such societal problems as intolerance and prejudice.

Emergency Rooms in Crisis
For this website for Spanish-speaking Americans, Dr. Gazelle provides tips for getting the best possible ER care. She reviews the importance of always bringing someone along to advocate for you, making sure to carry a list of medications you are taking, and getting the names of anyone who provides care so you can be sure that an attending level physician is overseeing your care.

Web site helps to balance doctor-patient relationship
Asked to comment about how to improve communication between doctors and patients: "Patients need help and coaching to know what it is that doctors are trying to find out," Gazelle said. "We need to enter into partnership." She talks about the problem of medical schools providing a massive amount of medical knowledge but not teaching future physicians how to share this knowledge with patients.

Graying of Gay America
In this article about health concerns of elderly gay men and lesbians, Dr. Gazelle notes that for the elderly, the “haves” and “have nots” are separated not by money, but by those who have someone in the next generation to advocate for them.

Be A Better Caregiver
Dr. Gazelle provides a number of practical tips on how keep elders safe, from removing throw rugs to how to avoid heat stroke in hot weather.

Alzheimer’s and Kids
In an educational article about how to help children cope with the changes brought on by Alzheimer’s, Dr. Gazelle provides expertise about how children perceive the world, and ways to help them understand the changes this tragic disease can cause.

Half of Americans don't get a second opinion
Even if you don't take the second doctor's opinion, simply knowing your options and thinking through the pros and cons can improve your care. Dr. Gazelle notes that you don't have to have a serious condition to benefit from a second opinion.back to top

On the Side: Compassion Fatigue
In this article about compassion fatigue, Dr. Gazelle notes that the demands of caring for a person going through cancer treatment can be so stressful that the caregiver may experience overwhelming emotions and fears. Without adequate support, many caregivers succumb to caregiver fatigue.

Mastercard.com
December 17, 2007

CNN.com
December 6, 2007

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 27, 2007

The New England Journal of Medicine
July 26, 2007

End-of-Life Hospice Care Underused
"People need to understand that hospice is about living," Gazelle said. "It's about living as well as you can when life has dealt you a bad deck of cards. Having your dignity, your quality of life, as little physical and emotional suffering as possible -- that's what hospice can do for people." "Hospice care is underutilized -- only a third of Americans die under the care of hospice, and hospice care is free," noted the author of one article, Dr. Gail Gazelle, assistant clinical professor at Harvard Medical School. " Far too often, patients end up in an ICU, rushed to the emergency room, and they end up dying there, when really they would much rather have died in their own home," she added.

"To know that their family is going to be attended to is critically important for people near the end of life," said Gazelle, who is also president of the medical advocacy group MD Can Help.
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Decisions About Aging Parents...
In an article about how battles and rivalries often resurface when a parent’s health declines, Dr. Gazelle is quoted: “Gazelle advises siblings to stay focused on what their parent would want, and to remember that their relationships with siblings will endure long after their parents’ deaths.” She also notes that in some cultures, the parents may favor the eldest son. “No matter how bad the parent’s relationship has been with that son and how derelict he has been in his caregiving duties, he may be deferred to in decision-making in those families,” Gazelle said, “much to the chagrin of the daughters who’ve been giving care for years.”
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MSN Encarta
November 2006

Medical Career Prescriptions
Dr. Gazelle provides information about careers in hospice and palliative care.
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RT Image
July 10, 2006

Quality of Life: Lean on Me
Cancer patients find strength in numbers
Dr. Gazelle discusses the importance of support groups for people coping with a diagnosis of cancer.
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The Art of Saying No
In an effort to make sure patients get the care they need, Dr. Gazelle gives time management tips to doctors across the United States. “Saying no is not a skill that you get taught in medical school…demands are enormous and ever-increasing. To get through your day, you have to be able to say no firmly but kindly.” She encourages doctors to set an agenda with patients who have long lists of questions. “Setting an agenda offers guidelines in a way that doesn’t make the patient feel slighted, she said.” She encourages doctors to have the patient come back if they are running late and can’t address all the patient’s concerns in one visit.
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Prepare for End-of-Life Questions, Experts Say
Noting how difficult it is for people to face their own mortality, Dr. Gazelle is quoted “Loved ones need as much instruction as possible” about a person’s wishes for care near the end-of-life. She discusses the various types of documents that people can write to guide loved ones as they make key decisions.
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The Web: Patients Heal Themselves Online
In this article about the benefits and risks of going online for health information, Dr. Gazelle says “Patients are much better informed healthcare consumers since the advent of websites,” but they need to be cautious as there is a lot of inaccurate information on the Web.
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Facing death while preserving life
Dr. Gazelle speaks out about how financial incentives can affect the treatment decisions doctors make.
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Slow Code
Dr. Gazelle exposes a medical practice that is performed in secrecy, without patient consent, and that creates more harm than good.
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Michigan Public Radio
February 1998