During our drive from Florida to Pennsylvania and Maryland for the holidays, I read a new book titled; Patient Empowerment 101: More Than a Book; It’s An Adventure by a friend and colleague, Ann M. Hester, MD.The book was easy to read and hit all the topics people need to learn to be their best advocate when entering the healthcare system.

To address the challenges in our complex healthcare system and make substantial changes, we need people, patients, and their families to be active participants in their health and healthcare. Until we do this, nothing will change – costs will continue to rise, quality of care will continue to deteriorate, and morale for all stakeholders will continue to decline.

The fix is for all patients to be actively involved and take responsibility for their part in wellness and prevention. The healthcare team needs to do their part, but for real change to occur, we need people, healthcare consumers to use their voices and be involved.

When a person develops a chronic condition, the stakes are higher for them to be engaged with their treatment team for their quality of life and overall health.

This book contains all the information people need to be their own best advocate. In addition to the information in the book, people have access to engaging online videos and quizzes to re-enforce essential concepts. There are also downloadable fillable medical charts to keep track of your vital data that will help your medical team know how you are doing and help you be proactive in your care.

The information in this book explains the future of healthcare. Everyone is saying that the current trajectory of healthcare spending, staff shortages, and other issues impacting our healthcare system are unsustainable. There are calls for radical changes. We can no longer sustain a ‘sick system’ but need a system that focuses on prevention and involves the patient in every aspect of their care.

Patient Empowerment 101 educates the patient and their families to better understand their role, why their role is so important, and most importantly, HOW TO DO IT!

The book reveals vital information medical teams need to know to expedite diagnoses with fewer tests and procedures. The book helps ‘people’ better understand how to coordinate their care and how to help their teams work better together to help them!

Ultimately the book makes the healthcare system more user-friendly and virtually seamless because there are checks from all sides. This is certainly different from how our system works today. The books gives me hope that the stakeholders are starting to realize the importance of patient involvement.

I hope everyone reading this Post orders this important book for each member of their family. We all need to read this book and practice the information immediately. Remember, we are all current or potential patients – so this is a must-read book for all.

When you get it, check out my contribution on page 188, which is part of Chapter 8, The Power of the Patient Advocate.

Thank you, Dr. Hester, for writing this book and sharing the resources and tools to empower us all to be active participants in our health and healthcare.

You can purchase the book via amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Patient-Empowerment-101-More-adventure/dp/B0BMXQTZJB.