Taking Charge of Your Own Health: Navigating Your Way Through *Diagnosis *Treatment *Insurance *And More
The realities of American health care, 2009:
- Less personal medical attention due to cost-cutting and regulation
- A 40 percent national misdiagnosis rate, per recent surveys
- A critical need for people to take responsibility for their own care
Targeting these issues, author Lisa Hall—whose debilitating condition took nearly ten years to properly diagnose—offers a wide variety of practical resources to empower patients. Hall’s experience is buttressed by the expertise of internal-medicine doctor Ronald Wyatt, a fellow of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Readers will find valuable guidance on how to
- find the right kind of doctor, check physician credentials, and increase benefits of office visits
- maximize Internet research
- navigate medical insurance, Medicare, workers’ compensation, and Social Security disability
- reduce vulnerability to hospital mistakes
- organize medical records
The author encourages readers to move forward step by step—and to look back and see God’s plan taking shape through the difficulties.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Educational and Empowering.
This book provides an honest look at the reality of all aspects of health care. It provides invaluable information that we should all have whether going through a personal health care crisis or just arming yourself with the information to be prepared for it. I enjoyed how comprehensive the book was covering everything from living healthy through proper nutrition and excerise, dealing with Doctors and Insurance Companies to living a quality life after diagnosis. Definitely a must read and one to share with with all friends and family.
4 Stars Lessons for patients and their doctors
There are 2 stories in this book. One is about the author’s struggle over many years to get a diagnosis for her own rare condition; the other is a compilation of top tips for patients trying to negotiate the US healthcare system.
Patients, their families and those who are not yet patients will benefit from her tips on negotiating the system. Her style is balanced and fair with a recognition of the difficulties which professionals face. The book is written with support and advice from her trusted Primary Care Physician, Dr Ron Wyatt, and they seem to make a good writing team. I especially like the sections giving advice on ensuring that the physician has adequate written information about previous conditions, medication, and past treatments and the book includes templates for recording these. It would certainly help me to help my patients if they were to follow this advice! There is also sensible general dietary and lifestyle advice and discussion of alternative and complimentary therapies. There’s a section on the common safety problems which occur in hospitals and advice on how patients can contribute to reducing these risks. Her emphasis on the spiritual aspects of well-being and healing may not be to all tastes but it is included as a component of a holistic approach with a recognition that there may be other views.
The story of the author’s struggle to get a diagnosis for her own condition is woven through the book. Clearly her diagnosis was not straightforward, but her description of how she was dealt with by some healthcare professionals makes depressing reading. She describes too many occasions when she was branded neurotic or otherwise psychologically disturbed because we coudn’t make a diagnosis and it was only with the long term support of Dr Wyatt and a few others that she persevered. If this book was required reading at all medical schools then students would learn some valuable lessons; listening to the patient is often the best way to reach a diagnosis, be completely honest when you just don’t know the answer and treat you patients with the respect that they deserve at all times.
Kevin Stewart MB FRCP
Physician
5 Stars Comprehensive and Inspiring!
Author Lisa Hall faced a battle which took her to places and through experiences no one wants to endure. After nine long years (and 37 medical practitioners later) this woman who had literally been hit by lightening, found substantive help through her PCP Dr. Ronald Wyatt. Lisa’s journey is harrowing not only because she suffered so deeply but also because her story is all too common. Read along with Lisa to learn how to best navigate these current tumultuous medical waters…whether you’re healthy or not, you’ll come away with something to use (or pass along). Lisa’s medicine is of the best sort…it educates, comforts, and cures. Highly recommended!
5 Stars Achieve Health Reform Now by Controlling Costs in Meaningful Way
I’ve been following all the news in the press and on television about health care reform and one of the major issues has been cost containment. One of the elements overlooked in the trillions of dollars being tossed around is the importance of controlling costs in our present system as a means of immediate reform.
Taking Charge of Your Own Health: Navigating Your Way Through *Diagnosis *Treatment *Insurance *And More
This comes to mind because a friend of mine, who is very good at tracking his own health, talked about a book that was a very valuable resource for him. So I borrowed a copy of Taking Charge of Your Own Health by Lisa Hall. The author challenges readers to take responsibility for their own health care and to be accountable for tests doctors order, prescriptions given, and treatments suggested.
Lisa Hall was misdiagnosed 37 times before a doctor discovered she had an autonomic nervous system dysfunction, likely caused when she was struck by lightning at age 15. Through that entire experience she learned the importance of seeking second opinions, understanding her health insurance coverage, and taking steps to avoid duplicate tests, thus reducing costs.
Among the cost-saving suggestions the author makes are to:
* Manage medications to prevent costly and unnecessary medical interventions.
* Use outpatient clinics instead of ERs when appropriate.
* Avoid costly duplication of tests by maintaining and bringing to the doctor’s office your own diagnostic history.
Hall makes sense to me when she argues that it is the patient’s responsibility to keep records of their health care and be an active partner in reducing the costs of your own care. She suggests forms to use for medical record keeping in the book and offers the forms for download at her website, [...].
If this approach were followed by thousands of patients the cost savings would be astronomical. In this way we could get an effective head-start on health care reform before the government’s complicated package takes effect two and three years from now.
If you are interested in being a participant in health reform now by containing costs in a meaningful way, pick up a copy of Taking Charge of Your Own Health by Lisa Hall. It’s good reading and makes a lot of sense to me, as it will to you also.
By Emory Daniels
Filed under: Life Insurance Book Reviews