The Patients' Book: How to Survive in Today's Medical System

by Sandra McCray and Diane Hartman

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0967864739
• ISBN13: 9780967864730
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Colorado Healthnet
• Length: 146 Pages

Customer Reviews

Not a Good Book; a Great Book

This is not a good book; it's a great book--insightful, revealing, useful and very well written, a godsend for anyone that has a chronic disease or is about to see a doctor or go to the hospital.The chapters on personal challenges and modern medicine leave the reader nodding agreement and remembering similar experiences. They also provide startling statistical evidence which leaves you shaking your head. What is said about the drug culture in medicine is particularly valuable. The chapters on taking responsibility for your own health care advocates the revolutionary but obvious idea that the patient, not the doctor, should be in charge. The chapters on educating one's self by using The World Wide Web are especially useful to anyone with access to a personal computer. The explanation of everything that is available at the Colorado HealthSite gives a complete review of that remarkable source of information. The crucially important concept of the buddy system and how to avoid the uncomfortable and dangerous pitfalls of hospital care are the focus of Chapter 6, and the final two chapters present suggestions which are vital to all patients, but especially those with chronic diseases.The book offers statistics where available, but relies heavily upon stories from patients, giving the reader both informative and moving material. Anecdotal evidence is compelling and instructive, particularly in areas where no other information is or can be made available.This book is a good read and should be enjoyed by anyone who has the privilege of perusing it, but it should be kept on the reference shelf for use use whenever one goes to the doctor or the hospital, or whenever a new prescription is given or purchase of an herbal remedy is being considered.It's not because The Patients' Book tells "my story," among many others, that I recommend this book. It is because it is an excellent book, which will help many patients survive in today's medical system.

Wonderful

This book is all about being a smart health consumer. It talks about the crushing mysteries of illness but also gives you good questions to ask of doctors to speed recovery/treatment. The content of Hartman and McCray's book helps us to empathize with those who are tackling the health care system and raises our hackles with the inefficiencies of it. This book also gives solutions about the health care system and how our parents, friends and partners can effectively operate within that system. I give it five stars.

Impressed

I plan to share this marvelous book with everyone I care about. The best information in this area.

Thank you!

This book is a great general resource and motivator for patients. It's all here - stories showing how patient passivity can lead to poor outcomes and, in contrast, how assertive patients can get good outcomes. And, the book has tips about how to be assertive without alienating your doctor.I have a chronic illness - type 2 diabetes. This book taught me how to find the best information about my illness. I searched the website the book mentioned and found a crucial warning about my drugs. My doctor had not yet told me about the problems with my drugs. I also gave the book to my husband and asked him to decide whether he thought he could be strong enough to be my medical buddy. Although he assured me that he could and would, I discussed the book with a friend and asked her to be my back up. We agreed to help each other.The Patients' Book has made me decide to take more responsibility for my health, not only my relationship with my doctor, but also my own lifestyle.I have 2 words for the authors - Thank you.

Must-Have Preventative Medicine for Everyone

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, then The Patients Book offers many ounces of prevention to protect the reader for a lifetime. If you plan to see a medical professional in your lifetime, then you can't afford not to read this book. I got this for myself, and then I bought another copy for my mother. Get one for yourself and another for someone you love!