Prepare to Defend Yourself ... How to Navigate the Healthcare System and Escape with Your Life: How to Navigate the Healthcare System & Escape with Your Life

Do You Really Need To Pay That Outstanding Balance With The Hospital? Do You Know The Differences Between A Nurse Practitioner, A Physician’s Assistant, A Physician, And A Paramedic? Did You Realize That Not All Hospitals Can Treat Your Stroke, Heart Attack, Or Trauma With Equal Speed And Effectiveness? How Should You Negotiate And Appeal A Hospital Charge? Can You Do Anything To Minimize The Medical Mistakes That Your Provider Might Commit? In Prepare To Defend Yourself . . . How To Navigate The Healthcare System And Escape With Your Life, Matthew Minson, A Physician And Disaster Medicine And Healthcare Policy Expert, Pulls Back The Examination Room Curtain On The Healthcare System, Empowering Patients And Their Families To Become Proactive And Knowledgeable Users Of Medical Services. Written In A Humorous, Patient-friendly Style And Loaded With The Author’s Cartoons And Other Visual Aids, This Essential Consumer’s Guide To Modern Healthcare Provides Down-to-earth, Accurate Advice That Any Reader Can Use, Whether Preparing For Surgery, Dialing 911, Or Simply Getting A Prescription Filled. The Language Of Medicine: Sit, Stay, Diagnose! -- Medical Professionals: You Can't Tell The Players Without A Program -- Ambulances: You Wanna Go Where Everybody Knows Your Number -- Hospitals: What You Really Need To Know Before You Gotta Go -- The Admission: You Are Going In! You Are Going In! -- About Drugs: The Dosage Makes It Either A Poison Or A Remedy -- Medical Mistakes: To Err Is Human, But You Still Need A Lawyer -- The Business Of Medicine: The Best Things In Life Are Free, But I Still Need Your Copay -- The Future: How Foggy Is My Crystal Ball? Matthew Minson, Md. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web.