Your Diagnosis (27)
When you have symptoms of a medical problem, you and your doctor must determine what disease or condition is causing those symptoms. Empowered patients work collaboratively with their doctors to develop the evidence and determine the verdict -- a diagnosis.
Exploring Treatments (67)
Once you have been accurately diagnosed, you will have a menu of treatment options to discuss with your doctor. How can you learn about them all? What are the best resources? How will you make the right decisions?
Misdiagnosed/ Undiagnosed (11)
Some statistics say that as many as 20 percent of all diagnoses are incorrect. Some patients may spend weeks or months, undiagnosed, with no answer to what is causing their symptoms. Understanding the roots of misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose can help patients work with their physicians to arrive at the right answers.
Internet Health Resources (28)
You can learn almost anything you would need to know about your health on the Internet. The scope and variety of information can be overwhelming. There are options for excellent, credible information, and plenty of bogus, fraudulent information, too. Learn about the options available, and learn how to discern which is useful to you.
Doctors and Providers (79)
As empowered patients, we are responsible for making our own healthcare decisions. But healthcare professionals, from doctors and nurses to pharmacists or acupuncturists, will be our best resources for helping us make those decisions.
Rights / Responsibilities (8)
Patients feel entitled to certain rights, as if somehow the American constitution provides an entitlement. They are often surprised to learn what few rights do exist. They are often even more surprised to learn what rights do not exist. And too often patients don't have a clear understanding of what responsibilities help ensure maintaining the rights that do exist.
Drugs and Supplements (23)
Patients chew, swallow, inject and apply drugs, vitamins and herbal supplements every day to improve their health or fix their medical problems. What questions do you need to ask to make sure they are safe? What should you do when they don't fix what they should fix? What are the best ways to learn about the right drugs and supplements for you?
Hospital Care (10)
They say a hospital is no place to be sick. It's true, because problems can lurk in every corner. An empowered patient knows how to prepare for a hospital visit, stay safe while at the hospital, cooperate and collaborate with the medical professionals who work there, and find her best outcomes from the visit.
Money Matters (33)
From choosing health insurance plans, to containing the costs of our care, wise patients learn to think like wise consumers, too.
Caring for Others (10)
Caregivers and advocates play a helpful and unique role in helping others through difficult medical challenges. There are a number of legal, organizational and personal aspects to caring for others that require special attention. Whether your interest is in helping a loved one, or if you are considering patient advocacy as a career, you'll find resources here.
End of Life Decisions (10)
No matter how well we have approached our health and medical care as smart patients, the end of life presents us with challenges and opportunities that have not previously existed. Learning about those challenges, making decisions, recording them, and discussing them ahead of time benefits both the patient and his or her loved ones.
Issues / In the News (37)
A relatively new concept, patient empowerment has evolved as the practice of medicine has become more difficult to manage for both patients and practitioners. From the costs of health care, to the increase in medical errors, to literacy and politics, there are a number of issues being explained, addressed and argued in medicine today.
Healthcare Reform (28)
Healthcare reform is a topic discussed everywhere in the United States, by any adult who has tried to access decent, affordable healthcare in the past decade. Understanding the roots of the dysfunction, what the questions are, the possible answers, and how it all relates to cost is an integral part of understanding healthcare reform.
Media for Patients (13)
While plenty of good health and patient navigation information can be found on the Internet, there are other media resources which can be helpful, too. Books, movies, TV, radio shows and more are reviewed here.
Med-Speak Glossary (65)
An empowered patient knows the importance of understanding med-speak -- the clinical terms physicians use to explain a treatment, diagnosis, or other piece of medical information. Knowing what these words mean and how they are used will help you navigate the system better, and improve your communication with your health providers.
