Scientifically Proven: Knowledge Is Power When It Comes To Improving Your Health

The doctor-patient relationship plays an important role in health outcomes, yet its foundations have shifted significantly in recent decades. With the advent of the internet and digital communication, information about health has become easy to access and share.

Now, patients can actively participate in their healthcare. This relatively new phenomenon has been labeled patient empowerment, and studies have found that empowered patients have better health outcomes.

In this article, you’ll learn how to become an empowered patient and the benefits it offers for your bones and overall wellness. We’ll also consider whether the word “patient” is even appropriate for Savers, given the relatively recent redefinition of osteoporosis as a disease.

What Defines An Empowered Patient

The classic doctor-patient relationship casts the doctor as an all-knowing figure who assumes total control over the health decisions of his or her patient. The patient becomes like a child– ignorant and incapable of making choices for his or herself.

However, this model has become outdated and inapproriate. The internet allows everyone the ability to do research and access technical information about health and wellness. The ease of digital communication means that people can now share experiences and information. Instead of being ignorant, patients can be quite well-informed.

With this newfound knowledge, patients can participate in their health care, making informed decisions about interventions and treatment plans with their doctors. It also means doctors and patients can communicate with more fluency since patients often understand more about healthcare and their condition.
Knowledge is the essential foundation of patient empowerment.

Synopsis

With the advent of the internet and digital communication, patients are no longer necessarily ignorant and passive. Now patients can do research, learn, and make healthcare choices together with their doctors.

Knowledge May Not Be Enough

One study found that knowledge alone wasn’t enough to improve health outcomes.¹

The systemic review of studies about patient empowerment was published in Translational Behavioral Medicine. The study's authors found that knowledge was most effective when combined with “goal setting” and “action planning”. When patients were able to apply their knowledge in this way, their outcomes were better.¹
Achieving the improved outcomes associated with patient empowerment requires a doctor who is receptive to patient participation, highlighting the importance of choosing the right doctor. If you have a doctor who is unwilling to listen to your questions and suggestions, then it doesn't matter how knowledgeable you are.

Synopsis

A systematic review of studies on patient empowerment found that for a patient's knowledge to improve their outcomes, it must be paired with goal setting or action planning. That underscores the importance of having a doctor who is open to creating a plan with their patients.

Savers Are Active Participants In Their Bone Health

Within the context of osteoporosis, the concept of the empowered patient encounters a challenge: osteoporosis does not conform to the traditional definition of a disease. Osteoporosis, as we know it today, was invented in the 90s to create a market for osteoporosis drugs through a process called disease mongering.

Bone loss naturally occurs with aging and it can be slowed and reversed through natural, drug-free, behaviors.

This fact makes it extra important for Savers to learn about bone health and participate in the process of making healthcare decisions about how to improve bone quality and prevent fractures. Even though we may be stuck with the term “patient” due to the Medical Establishment, it doesn’t mean we can’t make our own decisions about our lives, our health, and our future.

As studies show, when people are informed, engaged, and actively planning their health goals and interventions, they have better outcomes.

Synopsis

Osteoporosis isn't a disease, so people with an osteoporosis diagnosis aren't truly patients, but that's the nomenclature we're stuck with thanks to the Medical Establishment. Bone loss is a natural part of aging, so it's extra important for Savers to be empowered so they can collaborate with their healthcare professionals on interventions that will improve bone quality and prevent fractures.

What This Means To You

The Save Institute aims to transform potentially passive osteoporosis “patients” into active participants in the pursuit of stronger, healthier bones. The Osteoporosis Reversal Program provides the full guide to living a life that leads to better bone health. It provides the knowledge, the goals, and the achievable actions that empower Savers to speak to their doctors with confidence about the right plan for preventing and reversing osteoporosis without drugs. The ORP even includes a set of Doctor Communication Tutorials to make it easy to have effective conversations with medical professionals.

Knowledge is power. Continue to enhance your knowledge and use it to cultivate a lifestyle that fosters stronger bones.

References

¹ https://academic.oup.com/tbm/article-abstract/8/5/660/5048802?login=false