E-Patients Live Longer:
The Complete Guide to Managing Health Care
Using Technology
By Nancy B. Finn

It seems that the face-to-face time you have with your doctor shrinks every visit. In E-Patients Live Longer: The Complete Guide to Managing Health Care Using Technology, the author suggests ideas to maximize this time and continue the communication with your physician when outside the doctor's office.

You are the person most responsible for your health. Not your doctor or anyone else. The author suggests that it is up to you to use the modern e-tools to manage your health as effectively as possible.

This can include a current document of medications being taken and their dosage, lists of symptoms and treatments, allergies and family history. Providing such information to a doctor can be very important and save your precious visit time for other things.

The book also covers medical websites. Anyone with an Internet connection has at some point checked online for medical information. Whether to supplement an existing diagnosis, find possible new treatments, get some quick info for a situation not requiring a doctor or whatever - the Internet is full of useful information.

Of course, the Internet is also full of a lot of information that is just plain wrong and even dangerous. This book offers guidelines as to which sites to consider and which to avoid. Common sense indicates that you should avoid medical websites that promise unrealistic results. You should also look at when the site was last updated. Old medical information can be outdated and ineffective or worse. The mainstream sites by legitimate, well-known agencies are the best.

I like that the end of each chapter contains a summary of important key points. There is also a glossary of commonly used words at the end. Of course, a book also becomes dated fast but this is a handy tool to get you pointed in the direction of becoming a healthy ePatient.