Freedom as a Patient

Jun 29, 2021

With the celebration of the birth of our country approaching, we recognize, especially after living through a historical, global pandemic, that we are blessed with many freedoms. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us the good, the bad, the ugly, and the unfathomable. We must amplify the good and strive for inclusivity and equality. What would this look like in health care? What does freedom mean as a patient?

As a patient, freedom means access to affordable, safe, compassionate care that preserves dignity and the quality of life.

As a patient, freedom means having access to the information, tools, and technologies needed to make educated, empowered decisions about care.

As a patient, freedom means having a voice, choice, and ability to participate in shared decision-making to arrive at the best decision for one’s life with a diagnosis.

As a patient, freedom means having access to one’s health information even if it is distributed across multiple health systems, physicians, and health care delivery organizations.

As a patient, freedom means having control of one’s data and health information as well policies and technologies that support data segmentation for personalized privacy.

As a patient, freedom means social determinants of health are recognized as playing a key role in an individual’s health, and consequently, the ecosystem prioritizes connecting individuals to the resources and support they need to meet their health goals.

As a patient, freedom means transparency, especially in matters of pricing, cost, reimbursement, data use, and patient safety.

As a patient, freedom means a health care ecosystem that is inclusive, diverse, respectful and does not discriminate.

What does freedom as a patient mean to you? Does the above capture it all, or are there things missing?

Yours In Unblocking Health,

Grace Cordovano, PhD, BCPA

Freedom as a Patient

Related Article

I Don’t Want Surveys; I Want Solutions