Wow. This book covers it all! Dr.Hallisy has taken her own experience, both as a mother to a sick child and as a practicing dentist, and put together an incredibly detailed handbook for patients and families. This book is not a memoir and does not detail personal experiences. Instead, Dr. Hallisy has used her intelligence and compassion and poured them into the most comprehensive patient guide imaginable. The page after page of important facts and tips will prove valuable to those new to our country's medical system as well as "old pros" like me. I wrote a book on patient advocacy after my two lung transplants and still found things I did not know! This book is in-depth, comprehensive, sophisticated and extremely worthwhile to have on hand, no matter what your health circumstances.
Bravo to Dr. Hallisy for creating such an important resource.

Tiffany Christensen, author of "Sick Girl Speaks!"

In my opinion, as a medical care consumer, this book is a must-have for anyone who will ever encounter firsthand or even secondhand (because of a loved one) our health care system, which is EVERYONE. I found that what makes "The Empowered Patient" so unique among health care consumer awareness books is its amazing scope and detail. Forget political correctness. This book shines light in every corner of the hospitals and medical offices exactly where patients and loved ones have been in the dark for so long. The chapters can be read as need arises, not necessarily in sequential order, making it a reference book I will constantly return to. I am gratified for the arrival, finally, of such a book!

As the author of a book on managing a loved one's end-of-life hospitalization, I've made it my business to research this topic extensively. Julia Hallisy's The Empowered Patient is among the best of the best books on the topic of how to engage medical providers and institutions when enmeshed in a hospitalization. To extend a saying, it takes a village of such writers to raise citizen awareness, and Hallisy is a village elder and trail-blazer. From cover to cover, this book discusses vital aspects of citizen hospitalization management that will absolutely make the difference between an informed, controllable experience and an uninformed, risk-prone experience (that is, risk-prone beyond the nominal risks associated with any serious medical matter). Chapters that rose to the top for me include those on the medical team, the patient's medical record, and informed consent. Each contain eye-opening, mind-blowing revelations about patient rights and the pitfalls of patient-families abandoning oversight. I simply cannot recommend Julia's book highly enough. It's one of several books you need to keep with you and refer to during any hospitalization.

Julia Hallisy's book "The Empowered Patient" should sit right there on top of President Obama's healthcare policies. Julia lists everything you need to know about becoming an empowered patient. I have read many, many books on patient empowerment and patient advocacy but Julia's book sits on my desk at all times. Each chapter should be read over and over again. I will recommend it to anyone who wants to take control of their healthcare experience and for all patient advocates that really want to help their clients, not only with healthcare issues but healthcare billing issues as well. I am ready for the next edition to come out. It is clear when reading Julia's book that she should be in Washington talking to our elected officials. Julia, lead us................
BarBara Burton

Dr. Julia A. Hallisy's "The Empowered Patient" came in very handy during a recent medical procedure. Now I know exactly what steps to take to ensure that I am both informed and safe. Because Dr. Hallisy personally experienced many of the situations covered in the book, she can relate to the reader/patient and has emerged with great insight into the world of medicine. Each topic covered concludes with bullet point "action steps" that are useful, practical and easy to understand. If you interact with the health care system, are ever going to be a patient (which we all are!), or have a loved one with health issues, you need to own this book. I have read other patient safety books and none of them have come close to the level of detail and organization contained in this book. In fact, most books in this category discuss the problems you may face in the medical system and contain an abundance of terrifying stories, but they fall short on real solutions and strategies that the average person can use. This book could save your life!