It's no surprise to anyone who is familiar with my Thyroid site here at About.com that I consider myself an empowered patient and a patient advocate. To me, being empowered has been crucial to my getting well and enjoying good health, despite a thyroid diagnosis in 1995. But what does it mean to be empowered? Above all, it means being educated, being willing to ask questions, knowing how to communicate effectively with doctors, practitioners, and health insurers, and making sure that you don't go broke in the process! One of the people who has truly inspired me is Trisha Torrey, our About.com Guide to Patient Empowerment. Trisha survived a horrifying misdiagnosis, and her experience became the motivation for her mission as a patient advocate, About.com Guide, and author of a terrific book, You Bet Your Life! The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes (How to Fix Them to Get the Healthcare You Deserve).
I was happy to delve into Trisha's amazing wealth of information, to put together a special Thyroid Patient Empowerment Series for you, focusing on some of the critical issues that affect us as thyroid patients. For example:
What do you do if your health insurance company denies your claim? What if they refuse to pay for a particular thyroid test, treatment or medication? You may think there's nothing you can do, but when it comes to health insurers, knowledge is power. And the more you know, the greater the chance you have of getting the coverage you deserve. You'll find out how in When Thyroid Patients Need to Fight Health Insurance Companies
Do you cringe every time you pick up your prescriptions at the pharmacy, knowing that more of your hard-earned money is going into someone else's pocket? In today's economy, with prices rising, every dollar counts. Whether you're insured or uninsured, there are ways to cut your medication costs, which you'll learn about in How Thyroid Patients Can Save Money on Prescription Drugs.
Perhaps the most essential piece of being an empowered patient is being able to effectively communicate with your doctor, no matter what sort of bedside manner or listening skills he or she has with patients. Even if your doctor is more "Dr. House" than "Marcus Welby," tere are ways you can effectively communicate with difficult doctors and doctors who won't listen, and you can find out more about it in When Your Doctor Isn't Listening: What's a Thyroid Patient to Do?
Finally, there often comes a time when the smartest decision an empowered thyroid patient can make is to get a second opinion. How do you know when the time is right, and how do you go about getting that second opinion? It's all explained in Thyroid Patients: When It's Time for a Second Opinion. And remember -- not every doctor welcomes empowered thyroid patients... in fact, some are downright hostile. But you'll have an idea of what sort of opposition you might face after reading Why Some Doctors Are Threatened by Knowledgeable, Empowered Thyroid Patients.
And as you work on becoming a more empowered thyroid patient, don't forget this amazing quote from Audre Lorde:
"When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak."
Photo: clipart.com
