Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

Contributing Writer https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW, is a freelance medical writer who writes news, features, CME materials, and books for a variety of venues and target audiences, including healthcare professionals and consumers. She has a passion for human rights activism and is the author of Behind the Burqa (John Wiley, 2002), a memoir of 2 Afghan sisters who escaped Afghanistan. In addition, she holds the 1995 Robert L. Fish Award for Best First Published Mystery Story. Her fiction has appeared in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and several other publications. Beyond her desire to contribute to people's health and wellbeing through her writing, Batya offers emotional/spiritual support to clients in her Teaneck, New Jersey-based counseling practice to facilitate their journeys toward healing.

All articles by Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

The pitfall of self-reported stress levels is that the baseline stress for some people is so high, a cancer diagnosis doesn’t even register.

Practice Management

Addressing Patient Emotions: Communication Style May Impact Visit Length

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

April 8, 2022

Visits were shorter when the clinician’s responses explicitly focused on the patient’s affect.

Practice Management

Legal and Ethical Approaches to a Patient’s Request for an Emotional Support Animal

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

November 12, 2021

Psychiatrists and other mental health professionals are increasingly being asked to write letters certifying patients’ and clients’ animals as emotional support animals.

General Medicine

Language in Patient Records Can Convey More Than Medical History

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

August 20, 2021

The language in a patient’s medical record can convey information not only about the patient’s condition but about the attitude of the clinician writing the report.

COVID19

Monoclonal Antibodies for COVID-19: Expert Insights

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

June 11, 2021

The IDSA recommends that antibody therapy should be administered to patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 at high risk for progression to severe disease.

COVID19

COVID-19 Vaccine Allocation: Ethical Concerns, Practical Challenges

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

November 5, 2020

In the event of a likely scarcity of COVID-19 vaccines, a framework must be developed to inform who should get priority.

COVID19

Seven Tips for Managing Healthcare Teamwork During a Pandemic

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

July 23, 2020

COVID-19 has brought unprecedented stress to society at large and perhaps most of all to frontline healthcare teams in a variety of settings. We spoke to an expert about teamwork during such trying times.

COVID19

Seven Things to Consider When Transitioning to Telemedicine During COVID-19

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

May 4, 2020

The use of telemedicine has been surging since the onset of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with millions of Americans now using this medium for connecting with their clinicians.

Practice Management

Dress for Success: Physician Attire May Influence Patients’ Perception of Care

Batya Swift Yasgur MA, LSW

January 6, 2020

To shed further light on the role of physician attire in the medical setting, MPR interviewed Nathan Houchens, MD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.