Patient Empowerment Guide and Journal

The agency that accredits hospitals typically informs facilities that they are coming for a visit in advance. This allows administrators to have time to staff the units appropriately and clean the areas for inspection. It has been my observation that this agency rarely makes surprise visits. Hospitals spend billions of dollars lobbying our government to keep healthcare from being regulated. This means no one is watching how they take care of you or your loved one. This guide will help inform you of how to protect yourself from negligence, hospital-acquired infections, inflated billing, and possible wrongful death. It will assist you in understanding various tests, scans, procedures, and medical language.

You need to protect yourself by always asking questions and documenting everything. Take charge of your healthcare. Remember that without you, they would be out of business. You do have choices. If you do not approve of the care that is being provided inform the chief nursing officer, case manager, and social worker. Do not settle for substandard care.

Have you or your loved ones ever been a patient in the hospital or a nursing home? Have you found yourself agreeing with whatever test or procedure the physician orders only to feel frustrated due to lack of understanding of the purpose for the test? Have you felt as if your healthcare providers are speaking a different language?

Patient Empowerment Guide and Journal provides you with the tools that you will need to understand the various tests, scans, procedures, and medical language that is used by your healthcare providers. It includes a written legal journal of what, when, and how activities should be performed. This guide will assist you in reducing the possibility of a hospital-acquired infection, give you a greater understanding of the tests and procedures that are being prescribed for you, and possibly protect your life.

Johnilynn Wunderlich, RN, CLNC, has been a Registered Nurse for thirteen years. She has work experience in Neurological-Trauma Intensive Care, Special Needs Pediatrics, Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, and Medical-Surgical Intensive Care. She became a Certified Legal Nurse Consultant in 2004. She currently resides in Arkansas with her family.