However, if you think this post is going to be a call to action for Congress – think again.  While I am a firm believer in healthcare reform, and while I firmly believe we Americans deserve universal care – I also know that if you are already sick, or if you get sick today or tomorrow, or even next year, then healthcare reform isn’t going to help you anyway.

The one BIG benefit to all this healthcare legislative brouhaha, no matter what the outcome so far, is that it has forced us patients to realize that Marcus Welby has left the building.  The paternalistic, omnipotent doctor-as-God who actually cared about our medical outcomes has become an endangered species — one most of us will never meet in our lifetimes. Healthcare reform discussions have made this very clear:  American healthcare is not about health or care.  It’s about sickness and money.

So what have we learned?

That in order to get the good, decent care we patients deserve, we’re going to have to take matters into our own hands. Yes — US.  WE PATIENTS are going to have to do it for ourselves. We need to be EMPATIENTS (empowered patients.)  It’s a shift in mindset that those among us who are smarter and more attentive are realizing isn’t a choice.  If we want decent medical care in the United States (or, it seems, in most countries of the world) — we must make this shift in our thinking.

I hear people poo-pooing the use of the term “empowered.”  They don’t like it because to them, it suggests that someone must GIVE us power.

I don’t see it that way.  I see “empowered” as something we take on ourselves.  We take command of our care.  We take responsibility for acquiring the information we need, then making decisions for ourselves. We do that with a variety of resources, including physicians, other patients, and media information sources like the Internet, libaries and others.

If you think about it — that’s an entirely different way of accessing healthcare than most of us are used to.  It says that, in effect, we will no longer allow healthcare to be done TO us or FOR us.  Instead we will demand it be done WITH us.

That means it’s a whole new type of healthcare reform.
In fact, it’s PATIENT REFORM.

Are you ready to take up that cause for yourself and your loved ones?  There’s no argument over money here… it’s simply a recognition that if we are going to get the health and medical care we want and deserve, we are going to have to make it happen ourselves. It’s an approach to getting the right diagnosis, the right treatment, staying safe, and making sure you don’t lose your health because you can’t afford to access care.  It’s collaborative, research based, and helps us advocate for ourselves.

Here are some places to begin:

•  What’s an Empowered Patient? (or anything at the About.com Patient Empowerment site.)

•  You Bet Your Life! The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes (How to Fix Them to Get the Health Care You Deserve)

•  E-Patients.net (e-patients and emPatients describe the same thing – e-patients does not mean you need to understand electronic media.)

•  The Society for Participatory Medicine

These resources link to the dozens of other resources you’ll need, too.

Yes — this is it.  The beginnings of PATIENT REFORM.  Let those in Congress, the ones who have cadillac healthcare plans and don’t really understand what the rest of us deal with continue their bickering and corporate *ss-covering.  Let them continue to kow-tow to special interests who are more about making sure they keep their corners of the healthcare money pie, with little or no regard for patient outcomes.

I declare 2010 to be the Year of the EmPatient! Empowered, participatory — finding far better outcomes than we ever could by depending on Congress or someone else to — maybe — help us out.

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There’s so little I can say about swine flu that hasn’t already been said.  And to that point, I’ve already said plenty!

In fact, I’ve said it all on my About.com Guide to Patient Empowerment, so I figure it’s best just to give you a master list of all the articles I’ve written, by topic:

H1N1 Swine Flu 2009 – 2010 Frequently Asked Questions

H1N1 Swine Flu – Plan and Prepare to Get the Swine Flu

Should You Fear Pandemic Swine Flu?

When Is Time to Call the Doctor for a Swine Flu Drug?

Should I Call In Sick or Go to Work

Swine Flu Vaccine FAQs – FAQs About Novel H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine and Vaccinations

Side Effects and Other Problems Caused by Flu Vaccines

Swine Flu Myths – Facts, Fiction and Fraud about Swine Flu

Is It Time to Throw a Swine Flu Party?

Bogus, Counterfeit or Unapproved H1N1 Swine Flu Products

H1N1 Swine Flu – Review of Pandemic H1N1 Swine Flu Rumors and Theories

Confirm or Debunk H1N1 Pandemic Swine Flu Conspiracy Theories

Swine Flu H1N1 – Swine Flu H1N1 Websites and Resources

And blog posts that link to additional resources:

Can You Buy Swine Flu Vaccine on the Internet?

Why Not Just Assume You WILL Get the H1N1 Swine Flu?

H1N1 Swine Flu – A Heads Up on More Fraud

Just Assume It’s the Swine Flu

How Healthcare Reform Could Prevent the Spread of Swine (or any) Flu

H1N1 Swine Flu Update – Vaccines, Clinical Trials and Elmo, Too

Swine Flu — and the Crooks Lie in Waiting

Green Monkeys and the Swine Flu – Is the World Doomed?

Have I missed sometime you’d like to read about?  Let me know!  blog(at)EPAdvocate.com.

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It didn’t take long for the conspiracy theorists and the rumor mills to get going over swine flu, did it?

Let’s see:  do Madonna or Salma Hayak already have swine flu?

Or – is this possible pandemic really just bioterrorism?

These and more swine flu myths, separating fact from fiction and some fraud thrown in, too… check them out!

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Many of you, my readers, have had complaints about the healthcare system, including the relationship you have (or don’t have) with a doctor. And I hear you — I’ve had bad experiences with some doctors, too.

But that begs the question — do doctors have complaints about patients, too?

Of course they do!  I asked, and received input from more than three dozen healthcare professionals.  I learned:

• What those doctors’ complaints are, and….

• What doctors do about them (which ranges from firing patients to putting codes in their charts to warn others)
• Then I put together some ideas for how patients can get back in their doctors’ good graces if that’s what they would choose to do.
• AND – I invited readers to share their stories of how they got dumped by their doctors, and what they’ve done about it since.

Ha!  Opened the floodgates, I did.  You’ll be amazed at some of the stories.

Since then, I’ve come across this question from KevinMD - and commentary by one of his responders that suggests that rather than fire his patients, he just makes them so miserable that they choose to leave him. (find comment from MANALIVE)

Have you been frustrated by a meeting with your doctor?  Have you received a letter telling you the doctor will no longer work with you?

I invite you to share your story, too — and to discover whether you fit one of those patient profiles that doctors really just don’t want to work with.

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Social networking has become a great source for finding people who can help you improve your health, or your medical care.

If you aren’t sure what I mean by social networking, then you’ll recognize it by other names you have heard, like FaceBook, mySpace or Twitter.

Last month I asked who is using these websites to learn more, and many of you voted in my poll.  But now it occurs to me that for those of you who don’t, you may be missing out on some solid information that can move you forward in your quest to get better healthcare.

So here’s some background information on getting started with social networking.

And, as you may know, I am the patient empowerment guide at About.com — and learned recently that many of my About.com Health colleagues are using Twitter to help their readers, too.  So I’ve put together a list of my About.com Health Twitter colleagues for you to check out.

Do you Twitter?  Do you have a page at Facebook or any of the other social networking sites?  If you’re willing to pitch into the conversation and share what you’ve learned, then please share your ideas – and your IDs, too.

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See this icon?  It means this link includes an opportunity for you to participate, beyond just a comment.  However, please remember that your comments to any article or post are always welcome.

This icon indicates a piece that has attracted a lot of attention.

Blog Posts ………………………………..

• A Real World Example of Big Pharma’s Real Motives
• got Peanut Butter? Where to go from here…
• Preparing to Go Red for Women – Learning About Women and Heart Disease
• Was Brazilian Model Mariana Bridi Misdiagnosed?
• Peanut Butter, the FDA and Prayer
• Medical Headlines – Who Says Which Ones Are True and Helpful?
• Pharmacies Sell Your Information for Marketing Purposes
• Are You a Social Networker? Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or Others?
• A Different Perspective on the Sale of Wellsphere
• Is Google Strong-Arming the Feds to Allow Sale of Health Information?

Articles ………………………………..

• Become Your Own Advocate… from the Sarasota Herald Tribune
• An Alphabet Soup of Healthcare Professionals… at PatientAssistance.com
• Using Social Networking to Improve Your Health… at About.com
• FAQs about the Peanut Butter Recall… at About.com
• Can You Improve Your Doctor’s Bedside Manner?… at About.com

Radio (Podcasts) ………………………………..

HealthLink on Air Guests — January 25:
Dr. Jeremy Shefner on Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS) and Sharon Bauer, RN on Peripheral Stem Cell Transplants, plus review of a headline about premature infant deaths by Dr. Dave Smith, president of SUNY Upstate

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We all think we know what healthcare reform means — we think it means something about universal healthcare, right?

You might be surprised to learn that “universal healthcare” isn’t what it’s about at all.  It’s about shifting who gets healthcare, figuring out how to pay for it, and knowing that any success we find will be based on how we ration care.

Huh?

Yes — you read that right.

Universal healthcare — it’s terminology used to confuse, actually.  Most people think it means we would move to a single payer system, but that’s not what it means at all.  Read more about what universal healthcare means here.

Rationing?  Yes — our care is rationed now.  Sometimes we are the ones who ration it for ourselves, and sometimes our insurers or the government rations for us.  You need to understand it if you really want to ‘get’ reform — because the more reform, the more rationing.

Questions?  Let me know — because your questions are what helps me write material to provide answers.  blog – at – epadvocate.com

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Do we as individuals believe we should all have a right to healthcare coverage, similar to the way we have police protection, or fire protection, or education, or even library books?

Or should healthcare be looked at more as an individual responsibility, one we must pay for ourselves, such as food or shelter?

You still have time to vote if you wish — right here.

But the next question has now popped up:  are we so frustrated by trying to understand where the economy is going, how it tanked, and what the bailout means that we will now rest our voting decisions on healthcare reform?

Come on over to about.com and let us know what you think!

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Often their own patient-hood causes some sort of epiphany.  That “aha!” moment that helps them GET IT.  Their work is no longer their job, or their career.  It becomes a total understanding of how their patients feel, how they are fearful, confused, frustrated and anxious. It creates empathy.

This came to mind today because I found two articles that address the subject.  The first was published in Healthy, edited by Amber Smith of the Syracuse Post Standard (the newspaper that carries my biweekly column) — called Doctors As Patients, it tells the stories of five doctors who had their own experiences as patients and all of whom feel much better prepared to do their work now.

The second was an article about Dr. Ron Davis, president of the AMA (American Medical Association) and his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.  I’ve blogged about his article on my About.com site.

Regardless of their experiences, most doctors will still never “purely” understand the feelings of inadequacy each patient feels when it comes to understanding his or her medical problem.  No doctor can ever subtract his or her knowledge.  Further, when a doctor goes into treatment, there is still a professional courtesy that goes along with it.  Regardless of what form all that takes, the experience is still different.

But if I had my choice?  I’d most certainly choose a doctor who’s been in that very vulnerable position of having been a patient himself or herself.  That doctor will most definitely be more empathetic. It’s a perspective that will serve him or her well in practice, for sure.

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I was so wrong!

Turns out counterfeit drugs are being manufactured, stolen, diluted, adulterated — right here in the United States of America. AND — they are infused into our American drug supply.

Lipitor, Epogen, Procrit and dozens of others have been taken by unsuspecting American patients. If you had bogus Lipitor, and took it for months, how would you know? If you took blood pressure medicine for months, and it turned out it was fake, how would you know?

I’ve written a series of articles about counterfeit drugs, and what patients can do to protect themselves at my About.com site. If you think the FDA is doing much about it, you’re wrong. They’ve been hamstrung by those who are making the most money.

Included in the articles is a review of the book Dangerous Doses, A True Story of Cops, Counterfeiters, and the Contamination of the American Drug Supply, plus an interview with its author, Katherine Eban.

Check it out. Protect yourself. Talk to your pharmacist. This is scary stuff.

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