EmPatients are empowered patients, those patients who are engaged in their health and medical care, who proactively partner with their doctors in order to participate in their own medical decision-making.
The term emPatient was coined in 2009 by Trisha Torrey in her book, You Bet Your Life! The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes (How to Fix Them to Get the Health Care You Deserve) Trisha is the Guide to Patient Empowerment here at About.com.
E-patient is a synonym for emPatient, although many people believe that an e-patient must be more Internet savvy to become an e-patient. According to the e-patient website, use of the Internet is not necessarily a part of the definition. The founder of the e-patient movement, Dr. Tom Ferguson, described e-patients as those who are "equipped, enabled, empowered and engaged in their health and health care decisions."
