Review of e-Patients Live Longer

Postby Chimdik Chimezi »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "e-Patients Live Longer" by Nancy B. Finn.]
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good health is a treasure and doesn't come by chance. In her book, "e-Patients Live Longer," Nancy B. Finn, M.Ed., introduced us to ways to leverage technology to handle our health needs. The author described an e-Patient as an individual who actively participates in his or her healthcare decisions and has decided to leverage advances in technology to take maximum care of their health and that of their family. This book discussed health information technology, participatory medicine, and the need to adopt them. This book says health information technology started with the invention of the telephone, followed by other mainstream digital communication platforms like email, patient portals, social media, etc. Also, this book touches on choosing a hospital, patient safety, telehealth, retail clinics, health information privacy, and health insurance.

In emphasizing participatory medicine and the benefits of leveraging information technology to deliver healthcare services, this book revealed that one's medical history and story are what the doctor considers the most before making the correct diagnosis. This emphasizes the need for participatory medicine.

Before now, I never knew medical errors and diseases caused by poor hygiene in the hospital contributed to most patient deaths. Also, I didn't know that pharmacies can leverage health records for their own gain if they have access to health data.

There are things I find interesting in this book. The author painstakingly researched the major illnesses (like cancer, diabetes, and heart-related issues) and where one can turn online for help. This book has some real-life medical cases and also gives tips on choosing the best health insurance and doctors for ourselves. It listed the insurance plans and the necessary ticks before choosing one. Also, for the medical terminologies used in this book, there is a glossary that perfectly explains their meanings.

I learned from this book that we know ourselves much better than the physician; hospitals are not safe havens of care. The doctor can only help us get better depending on our willingness to communicate our problems and receive treatment. Also, it is very important to have an ICE (in case of emergency) contact on our phones. These are people who can say something about our health in case of an emergency. The author went deep when discussing topics in this book. I have nothing to dislike in this book. The editing of this book is professionally done; I encountered some negligible errors while reading through it. With regard to the above, this book deserves five out of five stars.

I recommend this book to healthcare professionals, sick patients, or anyone interested in developing innovations in one of the major areas that will disrupt healthcare in the future. This book has ideas on how you can innovate in the future of healthcare.

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e-Patients Live Longer
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