- Hallisy's advice comes from her own experiences as the mother of a sick newborn.
- Her advice is practical and spelled out in specific action steps so we patients can understand it.
- Good focus on the various healthcare practitioners and providers a patient may encounter.
- Excellent emphasis on patient safety, which helps patients avoid unsafe aspects of healthcare.
- Patients may not find this excellent book until they already have a problem with the system.
- Author: Julia A. Hallisy, DDS
- Publisher: Bold Spirit Press
- Year Published: 2008
- ISBN: 978-0-6151-7791-5
- Hardcover: Not Available
- Softcover Price: $25.95
- 351 pages
Teaching patients how to empower themselves is a tough sell until they have been challenged by the existing system. But once burned, twice or forever shy -- and this book can help patients get beyond that shyness.
Hallisy spent 11 years fighting the American healthcare system on behalf of her daughter who was born with bilateral retinoblastoma, a form of cancer. Few patients learn how to navigate the system as extensively and successfully as a parent with a very sick or debilitated child. Hallisy has turned her daughter's experience into a book that helps all patients.
What I most appreciate about her approach is that she makes us realize that the problems we run into are mostly based on time and/or communication. Doctors don't have the time to spend with us to do the job 100%, and that translates to a lack of communication. When communication breaks down, we patients must spend the time making up the difference. This book helps fill those gaps.
Further, there is no vague list of ideas here for patients. Each part of each chapter boils down to specific, actionable steps to make navigation through diagnosis and treatment much more successful for all parties.
