A great gift for anyone facing a major health challenge   September 18, 1999

The book is full of incredibly useful information, charts, and examples. If you or a loved one are seriously ill, it will become your Bible. I am so impressed by this book that I plan to send it to my friends and family as a Christmas gift this year.


Easy to read w/lots of practical tips!   August 12, 1999
Informative book with many practical tips for people with serious health problems or chronic diseases. I especially like chapter 3...Getting It Together, regarding putting together a medical resume. This is great advice for people who are seeing multiple physicians. I wish this book had been available when I was visiting several neurologists prior to the diagnosis of essential tremor.


don't wait till you need the info to read this book   February 1, 1999
This is a fabulous "hands on" read - simple, direct and succinct. Not a lot of medical jargon. Touches topics we all need to consider such as "If You Are Having Problems With Your Doctor" and a sample letter for changing doctors within the same practice. There's also one if you choose to go outside the medical practice. The authors offer a pragmatic sensitive approach to daily hassles such as navigating the insurance company maze, and what to do when you and your doctor disagree. Get this book before you need it.


This book will help guide you through the medical maze.   November 10, 1998
It is clear to me from personal experience that it is very difficult, even for a physician, to navigate the medical care maze. A physician, however, is usually armed with the ability to make decisions based on a background of extensive medical training. In most cases, patients are passive subjects who must trust that their physicians and their system are making the correct decisions for them. This trust must exist in the current medical economic climate of cost containment and the resultant financial pressure on physicians. The outcomes are, unfortunately, not always ideal. "Taking Charge of Your Health" is an extremely thoughtful, practical, open and honest tool which can be used to effectively guide a patient through this maze. The concepts are not difficult and may seem to some to be common sense. It is the guidance and permission the authors give to the patient in how to implement the concepts that gives this book its unique character. And it is the implementation that will accomplish the objective - to empower patients to feel that they have greater control over their lives. - Detlef Kutzscher, CEO, Pacific Neurosciences Institute, Orinda, Californi


This book helps you be more involved in your own health care   October 24, 1998
"Taking Charge of Your Health" is a valuable resource that will help anyone dealing with a significant illness learn about what questions to ask, where to get more information, how to avoid numerous potential problems, how to deal with the insurance and medical systems, how to cope with the stresses and emotional aspects - in all, how to be more involved in the decisions that affect your health care.- Jeffrey Lindenbaum, Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of Washington