The Take-Charge Patient: How You Can Get the Best Medical Care    by Martine Ehrenclou Order:  USA  Can Lemon Grove, 2012 (2012) Softcover, e-Book      Reviewed by Mary Ann Smyth Martine Ehrenclou, M.A, author of Critical Conditions: The Essential Hospital Guide to Get Your Loved One Out Alive, has written a new guide – The Take-Charge Patient – which will help you to do just that. Take charge of your own or your loved one's health care. Ehrenclou explains in her introduction why she needed to take charge of her own medical care. And how she became an advocate for herself. Going on to reveal how to become a take-charge patient, she admonishes us to become active in our own care. When I was a child and even as a young mother, doctors were considered almost as gods. You took their word and acted on their advice. Not today, thank heavens. But it still remains that questioning your doctor can be problematic. I asked a question of a doctor who had given me a new knee. Obviously, he didn't like the question, turned on me, and I was dismissed! I was dumbfounded! In this day and age, we must ask the questions no matter the consequences. We need to have a rapport with both our doctors and their staff. We also need to have a toolkit of all our medical experiences to present to our primary care doctors. From How to Choose the Best Doctor for You to Why It Is Essential to Create Your Legal Health Documents Now, this new guide is invaluable in taking charge of your own future. I have been given enough misinformation to make me now question advice from my doctors. I do believe, however, that this is a two-way street. You, yourself, must alert your doctor to any symptoms you have and follow through until the condition is properly diagnosed. You must have a complete medical history for any of your doctors so they can properly diagnose and treat you. Having or being your own, patient advocate is the way to go. Your loved ones can benefit from your caring enough to take-charge. Ehrenclou is able to put you on the right trail to better health and a happier life. I simply cannot synopsize the guide. There's too much good information that should be read and digested. Take your time reading it and benefit from the closely researched information that will take you to a course of better health and make you and your family feel better about your and/or their care. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more NonFiction books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews