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

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.