Taking Charge of Your Own Health: Navigating Your Way Through *Diagnosis *Treatment *Insurance *And More

by Lisa Hall

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780736937184
Publisher:	Harvest House Publishers
Publication date:	12/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	645 KB

About the Author

Lisa Hall is a passionate patient advocate as a result of her nearly ten-year search for correct diagnosis and treatment for her medical condition. She is also the author of Taking Charge of Your Own Health. Her professional experience is in human resources (MS in industrial relations), and she now works as a corporate trainer. An avid runner, she just completed her first half-marathon. Lisa makes her home in Alabama.

Table of Contents

Quick-Reference Guide to Information Sections 9

Foreword 11

A Partnership Effort 13

Into the Abyss: My search for diagnosis 17

Part I Taking Responsibility for Your Health

1 "Treatment Is 95 Percent Diagnosis": How to help your doctor find a correct answer 33

2 Head It Off at the Pass, Part One: Strengthening your system 49

3 Head It Off at the Pass, Part Two: Reducing your risk factors 65

4 The Rights and Responsibilities of Patients: Proactively using health care 77

5 What Kind of Practitioner Do I Need?: Surveying ability and availability 93

6 When Good Hospitals Go Bad: Avoiding the pitfalls and taking advantage of the resources 119

7 "Someone Took Away Our Swords," Part One: Finding success with insurance providers 143

8 "Someone Took Away Our Swords," Part Two: Dealing with drug/dental/vision coverage, disability, and workers' compensation 161

Part 2 Taking Charge of Your Attitude

9 "Find Happiness Wherever You Can": Managing adversity and seeing its gifts 175

10 Understanding God s Will: Finding meaning in your experience 195

Resources at a Glance 211

Helpful Charts for Recordkeeping 215

Acknowledgments and List of Contributors 229

Guide to Medical Terminology in This Book 233

References 239

Index 243