By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Future of Healthcare: Part I, How the Empowered Patient Can Fix a Broken System
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Public Health > The Future of Healthcare: Part I, How the Empowered Patient Can Fix a Broken System
Public Health

The Future of Healthcare: Part I, How the Empowered Patient Can Fix a Broken System

HerinaAyot
HerinaAyot
Share
4 Min Read
SHARE

Dr. Cindy Haines has made it her mission to help patients navigate through the imperfect healthcare system, which she has described as “broken.”

Dr. Cindy Haines has made it her mission to help patients navigate through the imperfect healthcare system, which she has described as “broken.”

A family physician based in St. Louis and adjunct faculty at the St. Louis University School of Medicine, Dr. Haines has evolved into a consumer health guru, helping the public understand the proper (read: minimized) role of the healthcare complex in fostering wellness. Her new book, The New Prescription: How to Get the Best Health Care in a Broken System, identifies how we often misinterpret the healthcare system as infallible, offers strategies on how to use the efficient parts of the system to our advantage, and challenges us all to be a better steward of self – ultimately needing the system less as a result.

As chief medical officer of the health news and custom content company HealthDay and managing editor of HealthDay’s professional news wire, Physician’s Briefing, Dr. Haines is uniquely tuned in to millions of patients and providers, making her an authoritative voice on the future of healthcare in America. Her message is clear: empower people with information and transparency, and they will quickly learn what the system actually can and should provide.

More Read

Aetna Acquires mHealth StartUp, iTriage: mHealth is Here to Stay
1/3 Women Living with Chronic Health Conditions
Orthopaedic Medicine Vital to Addressing Musculoskeletal Disorders [INFOGRAPHIC]
Doc Foreman: Suicide Education and Twitter [PODCAST]
The Truth About Macro Dieting

Medical professionals can turn these metaphysical goals into a reality, as Dr. Haines noticed very early into her career as a family physician. People absorb only a fraction of the information received during a medical visit, she says, and an even smaller number understand the information accurately.

Her efforts into properly educating the patient began simply, with a library of take-home one-pagers on a variety of conditions. Small-scale initiatives like these can help people achieve the ultimate goal: rely on healthcare less frequently to make decisions for you, and in turn take charge of your own health. An informed individual can then rely (as needed) on healthcare more efficiently, use up less healthcare services, and save money. It’s a simple concept that could have a profound effect on re-building the healthcare system.

According to Dr. Haines, healthcare is but a part of living healthy, not the sole vessel. Her advice is to never be a ‘patient’, but instead a ‘seeker of health’: a patient is someone who is sick and/or dependent on the healthcare system – an identity and passive position that can take over your life, she says. A seeker of health, on the other hand, is an individual who embraces the great responsibility and power he or she has over his/her own health and health outcomes. The seeker of health will be active in their health journey: they will pay attention to personal health and their surroundings, and in turn take action to avoid the extraneous devotion to the healthcare system.

Philosophically, an informed individual is inspired to seek a better wellbeing, aware and embracing that living healthy begins with one’s own unique circumstances. In practice, it is a realization that people have the power to change their health. The way we eat, the way we use our bodies, and the way we maintain our outlook on the world can often do muchmore to maintain our health and prevent disease than the healthcare system can.

Becoming proactive about our health is an empowering concept that can unburden us of the frustrations of the healthcare complex – all the while saving the individual money, time and dignity.

-Cindy Haines

 

TAGGED:ePatientwellness
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

a woman walking on the hallway
6 Easy Healthcare Ways to Sit Less and Move More Every Day
Health
September 9, 2025
Clinical Expertise
Healthcare at a Crossroads: Why Leadership Matters More Than Ever
Global Healthcare
September 9, 2025
travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025

You Might also Like

Doctor’s Office of the Future Meets Office of the Past

November 26, 2013

America Has a Medical Care System Not a Health Care System

September 25, 2012
Health careHome HealthSpecialtiesWellness

Holistic Practices That Will Improve Your Life

March 16, 2018
Mental Health

How Technology Is Tackling Depression And Anxiety

August 3, 2019
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?