Congratulations! You have just taken a very important step towards optimal health. Knowledge is power, and Taking Charge of Your Own Health will empower you to get the most out of your medical care.
Lisa Hall and Dr. Ronald Wyatt are a formidable force against the vulnerability that patients experience. Dr. Wyatt offers the perspective of a twenty-year veteran of internal medicine and the passion of a physician who entered the profession for all the right reasons. He leaves no stone unturned, and he stops at nothing to find the correct diagnosis and treatment for all of his patients. He views his profession as an art as well as a science.
Ms. Hall’s passion for quality patient care has reached the intensity of Dr. Wyatt’s, but for different reasons and from a different point of reference. Her zeal was born of the frustrations she experienced during seven years of misdiagnosis and nine years of disability. She understands the challenges faced by people dealing with medical adversity because she has experienced them first-hand. Her history has driven her to investigate every facet of health care thoroughly and to offer tools and tips that are useful to anyone seeking solutions to medical problems.
Together, Dr. Wyatt and Ms. Hall provide an insider’s guide to acquiring the best medical care possible. You will learn how to select the right medical practitioner, which safety guidelines are most critical in a hospital setting, and what to do when you need emergency care. Have you ever wondered about the different lengths of the white coats that physicians wear? How about the various medical specialties and the educational requirements for each? And what is the difference between a resident and an intern? What is a hospitalist’s role? These questions and many others are answered in this invaluable guide to seeking optimal medical care.
Taking Charge of Your Own Health tells you the number one cause of spine degeneration, the importance of ergonomics in prevention of injuries and even surgery, the link between oral hygiene and illness, and why your pharmacist is your new best friend. You will discover strategies for disease prevention and early detection; preparing for doctor visits; searching the plethora of online medical resources; appealing an unpaid insurance claim; and finding free or reduced-cost drugs and medical, dental, and optical care.
This comprehensive resource includes input from a chiropractor, emergency department physician, triage nurse, nurse practitioner, hospital nurse manager, pharmacist, ergonomics expert, dentist, patient advocate, disability examiner, disability and workers compensation attorney, insurance provider, insurance resolution author, and psychotherapist and from surgeons, primary care physicians, specialists, geriatric nurses, several alternative practitioners, various wellness professionals, several members of the clergy, and numerous patients. Ms. Hall and Dr. Wyatt solicited input from physicians nationwide through an online survey. Physicians offered information on topics such as elusive diagnoses, patient responsibilities, critical screenings, hospital errors, managed care, and how they choose their own physicians.
In the seminal publication issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 2001, Crossing the Quality Chasm, ten new rules were given to guide patient, doctor, and nurse relationships, including supporting thepatient as the source of control. According to the IOM, patients should be given the necessary information and the opportunity to exercise the degree of control they choose over health care decisions that affect them. The IOM also noted that the health system should be able to accommodate differences in patient preferences and encourage shared decision-making. Patient empowerment becomes even more critical than ever, with shortages of internists and family practice physicians as well as the increased pressure on clinicians to see more patients per day leading to shorter office and hospital visits and far more responsibility for self management of one’s health. One medical practitioner who was interviewed for this book emphatically stated that patients bear 90 percent of the responsibility for their health care, leaving only 10 percent of the responsibility to the medical profession. The news is very exciting when consumers engage. National and international projects are demonstrating exceptional results when patients are given and assume the control previously referenced by the Institute of Medicine. Taking Charge of Your Own Health gives you the tools and knowledge to assume this responsibility proactively and confidently. Good luck and good health!
James Conway, Senior Vice President
Institute for Healthcare Improvement
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