Be Savvy: The Formula for Health Care Success

Smart, wise, empowered,and savvy - terms used to describe people who take an active role in their health care.

According to Webster's dictionary, savvy means being well informed, having practical understanding and intelligence in a specific field or subject. A savvy patient or caregiver is a person who:

· Is the leader and coordinator of her healthcare team and a partner with each member of her team - Wise
· Takes time to learn about every aspect of his health including conditions, treatments and test procedures - has good health literacy - Smart
· Asks educated questions and makes educated, joint decisions rather than waiting for the clinician to make the decisions for him - Empowered
· Has a documentation system that enables fingertip access to her detailed medical information in any circumstance & knows how to use that information to help her clinicians think and tie the pieces of her story together for more accurate and timely diagnoses - Smart & Wise
· Has better follow through and better outcomes - Happy
· Knows how to prevent many types of costly medical errors - Smart
· Has intelligence in a specific subject - her self and everything to do with her health care - Savvy
Best of all, enjoys Confidence and Peace of Mind about health care received and the decisions made.

The Formula for Health Care Success…

Smart & Wise & Empowered = A Savvy Patient / Caregiver

We have never taught how to be patients, much less savvy ones. The bottom line - WE must take responsibility and control, and realize that our clinicians DO need our help.