Official Review: The Take-Charge Patient

[Amheiser]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Take-Charge Patient" by Martine Ehrenclou.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Take-Charge Patient: How You Can Get The Best Medical Care, is a non-fiction self-help book written by Martine Ehrenclou. M.A. Ehrenclou is an author, patient advocate, and speaker whose focus is on empowering patients so they become experts on how to take charge of their medical care. Ehrenclou says that with help from this book it’s possible that, “Take Charge Patients feel more confident, less helpless and less vulnerable to the medical system they are dependent on.” She explains how and why a person can and should be more prepared for and active in their medical care. She covers topics that are helpful to a patient, caregiver, or advocate (support person).

It is stated in this book that, “The Take Charge Patient is about how to become your own advocate and get the best medical care for you.” The book focuses on teaching you to become a proactive and organized patient who is prepared to successfully navigate today’s confusing and complicated health care system. The author gives tips and how-to’s on such subjects as: getting an advocate, preparing ahead of time for a doctor visit, and being persistent when faced with a serious or difficult diagnosis. She explains why you can’t be a passive patient anymore and tells you how to be persistent in your pursuit of quality medical care. Included in this book is information from interviews of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and many more people who are involved in all different aspects of medical work. There are also details of the extensive research by Ehrenclou based on her own experience with a long and very challenging process of searching and finally finding a cure for her own chronic pain.

I think this book is well thought out and very well-written, and would be able to help anyone improve their own medical care as well as be a helpful advocate for a loved one. It is well-organized into specific topics with each chapter containing comprehensive information on that topic. At the end of each chapter there are checklists to help organize medical experiences and keep accurate records. There are some intentional duplications of topics in other chapters so you don’t miss out on important information if you don’t read the book straight through, plus there is an index for researching specific topics so you can get right to information you need. At the end of the book there are sections for definitions, resources for research, recommended books to read, references, and a long list of articles written on various medical subjects in addition to sections with patient safety checklists on various subjects and sample questions for you and your doctor. It stresses “the importance of being an advocate for others and for ourselves” and “the importance of collaboration and partnership between patients and medical professionals as well as how to navigate the health care system.”

I have been through my own personal experiences with the health care system, both for myself and my husband, and I was very impressed with all the information that is contained in this book and how it is presented. I think it is very thorough and it covered everything I went through and I went through a lot. I wish that I had been more prepared to face the challenges that I faced. Our situation could have been a lot better and less stressful if I had been prepared by using the information in this book.

The only fault I could find with this book is that there are times when it is mentioned that a person should keep trying different doctors until it feels like there is a good communication between the doctor and the patient. This is good advice, but I’m not sure how feasible it is with today’s health care system. Some people may not be able to afford to keep searching for the “perfect” doctor, and some patients are limited to certain doctors because of their health care plan. Other than that, I think this book is a must-read for any adult.

I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I liked it because it contains a lot of information that everyone should know about in a form that is easy to read. I think anyone who wants to be more in control of their medical experience could use the advice presented in this book, especially anyone who is facing a serious diagnosis. This book can help from your first doctor visit to facing a complex medical diagnosis with advice on completing your medical records, understanding your health insurance, preparing for end-of-life decisions, and much more, no matter what age you are.

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The Take-Charge Patient
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[bookowlie]

Nice, insightful review! The book seems like it would be a great reference tool, particularly for people facing a complicated diagnosis. I agree with your comment that it's not easy to keep changing doctors to find the perfect fit. Heath insurance plans limit who you can go to. If you do make a change, you often have to wait until the following month for the change to take effect.

[Amheiser]

Thank you for the positive comments on my review. I was pleased to find when I read this book that I did do a lot of things right in my experiences with doctors. However, there were also a lot of things that I wish I had been more prepared for and this book covered everything that I wish I had known about.

The advice on trying to find doctors was the only thing that I had a problem with. If you have enough money, it's probably easier to keep trying different doctors. It's not just the money though because the author points out that many doctors know each other and cover each other's backs and try to convince you to stick with one doctor. The author gives advice on that too. I found this to be a very helpful book.

[bookowlie]

Good point! Doctors are often a little clique, particularly within the same town.

[Amheiser]

Doctors have doctor friends in the same town, but also they all know each other from the many conventions they all attend all over the country and even Europe so even if you can travel to another area you might still be dealing with someone who is acquainted with your doctor, but this author has thought of everything and she gives advice on that too. I was really impressed with this book.

[Rachaelamb1]

Great review! This book sounds very helpful. I don't live in the US any more but I can see how important it is to have some type of guide when you are in the hospital.

[Amheiser]

Yes, I think it's important to have a guide when you are in a hospital. I just kind of learned my way through my experience with hospitals. I wish I had looked for a book to read on the subject. I've found out that this author's advice on being prepared is the best advice. Thanks for commenting on my review.

[debo9967]

Sounds like an interesting book. Nice, detailed and thorough review!