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Do you feel people can make a difference in the quality of health care they receive?

By February 2, 2012 - 7:28pm

I feel people can make a big difference in the care they receive. As the medical system has changed and become more complex and fragmented over the years people,especially those over 50, haven't taken time to think about how their care has been impacted until they experience some form of poor care or an error. They are then very bewildered and wondered how it happened. We weren't taught how to be patients and "don't know what we don't know". Life is so busy few of us take time to learn or even realize we need to learn. A few key skills can make the difference between a timely accurate diagnosis or a missed / misdiagnosis, seamless care or an error. I'd like to know what you think people can do to make a difference...before I share my thoughts.

By February 6, 2012 - 8:18am

Yes, I truly believe we can make a big difference in the care we receive as medical consumers. The more we know about our bodies and minds and how they work, and work together, the better care we will receive. We will know what is good care and what is mediocre care. If we understand ourselves better we can take better care of ourselves and ask for better medical care from the professionals. It is our duty to know as much as we can about our bodies and how they work. When we do, we know what to ask for and not depend on some ad on television or in a magazine. We should not depend on paid advertisers to tell us what we need as far as healthcare goes. We are the ones who know our bodies best, not anyone else. We should dictate our care, not some insurance company. Sure, we need the expertise that the doctor offers, but we don't need a paid third party determine our care and health needs. There are a lot of reliable sources out there that can inform us about our issues and their treatments. We do have to be discerning in who we believe and from whom we seek advice, but that can be checked out. Always go to the big names like NIH or Johns Hopkins or Mass. General or Mayo Clinic and many, many others. There is a large variety of good, accurate sources of information that we can seek out to help us be better proactive healthcare seekers. It is no longer the dark ages as far as the availability of reliable health information. Let's begin to take better care of ourselves by being informed consumers. bbnrse

February 6, 2012 - 8:18am
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By Anonymous February 5, 2012 - 11:05am
Hi Margo Corbett, Welcome to EmpowHER. Thanks for sharing this with us. Am sure it will be very interesting to many that feel the same. Best, DaisyFebruary 5, 2012 - 11:05am

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So many changes in the healthcare system! How can a patient keep up? Doctor's have less time and the medical world has evolved over the decades. It's time for us to work with our doctors and become better consumers of our own health. Let's talk about how to do that!

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