7 Steps to Your Best Possible Healthcare by Dr. Ruthann Russo

The 7 Steps

Step 1: Create Your Vision

Create Your Vision helps you to create your healthcare values, vision, and mission statements. You develop a plan for your healthcare and health status using your own values, vision, and mission statements. These are dynamic and you can reference them for guidance and to reassess your priorities. In this section, I also discuss the process for ensuring you have the best possible primary care physician, medical mentors, and health insurance coverage.

Step 2: Own Your Story

Own Your Story talks about how your medical records—or healthcare biography—are created. In this section, I also discuss why providers collect and maintain health information on you, as well as gaining, keeping, and limiting others’ access to your health information. Health information is another term for medical record. Health information can also include x-ray films and other images that often are stored outside of the medical record. I use both terms throughout this book.

Step 3: Build Your Relationships

Build Your Relationships describes your rights and responsibilities as a patient. I also discuss actions to improve communication between you and your physicians and other members of your healthcare team. I describe reasons why you may want a second opinion, how to obtain one, and what to do with the information once you have it.

Step 4: Assess Quality

Assess Quality helps you to define exactly what quality in healthcare means to you. I also describe how to use Internet-based tools to rate the quality of your healthcare providers and your health plan. In addition, in this chapter I explore the impact and ethics of medical research. I also share my thoughts with you regarding what is referred to as the growing "medicalization" of life—a term referring to how more and more conditions previously thought of as normal are now being medically treated.

Step 5: Understand the People

Understand the People identifies different types of healthcare providers, how they are educated, and what they do. I specifically describe the education and training of physicians to help you better understand the rigor of their preparation and what drives and inspires them. I also explain complementary and alternative medicine options and the providers who practice in this area.

Step 6: Know the Places

Know the Places acquaints you with the many different locations where you can receive healthcare, as well as the difference between teaching and non-teaching hospitals. I outline the steps you need to take to make sure your providers in various locations have access to your health information.

Step 7: Learn the Language

Learn the Language describes the most common medical terminology, phrases, and abbreviations. It also provides methods and resources to learn more on the topic. In addition, I talk about how the documentation in your record is translated into coded data.