Christine has been interviewed for today’s CNN.com “empowered patient” column.

 

Empowered Patient, a regular feature from CNN Medical News correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, helps put you in the driver’s seat when it comes to health care. This week’s topic asks the question, “Are you an obnoxious patient?”.
Christine was quoted in tips # 3, 4 and 5! Ms. Cohen was easy to speak with and it was a pleasure to work with her. I hope to again in the future as patient advocacy and empowerment is something I feel so strongly about.
Story Highlights
* Be an informed, confident patient, but also listen to your doctor’s view
* Don’t demand a prescription without an office visit
* Share, but don’t overload, your doctor with info you’ve gathered independently
* If you need more than 15 minutes, make special arrangements beforehand
To read the whole story on CNN.com click here.

  • The article did make a lot of good sense. Unfortunately, sometimes doctors get just as put off by a long list of allergies and real experiences, things like “I can’t take that drug because I will get hives” or “I’m deathly allergic to penicillin.” They are that busy. They do get that confused with lots of new information.
    And when they keep insisting on things that I know will kill me, I walk out on them and have to try to find a doctor that won’t. I do get appreciative with the ones that listen, but if they don’t listen and keep prescribing the impossible, it’s time to get out of there.