The Professional Patient: Why the chronically sick need to be taken seriously & why you need to help

<p>The term &ldquo;professional patient&rdquo; has been used as slang by the medical community to describe someone who they feel is difficult &amp; likely imagining the health issues they have. Today, I&rsquo;m officially taking it away and repurposing it.</p> <p>When a person is diagnosed with a long term illness, especially one that is chronic &amp; incurable, their health becomes a full time job. The medical appointments, tests, procedures &amp; surgeries, all of the waiting in sterile physician offices, long phone conversations with pharmacies &amp; insurance companies&hellip;it all takes a significant amount of time &amp; energy, and that doesn&rsquo;t even factor in the time they spend fighting the illness itself. They are forced to become an expert in their disease, especially when it&rsquo;s rare or uncommon. Even more so, they are involuntary made experts when it comes to the healthcare system.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/@thisisushealthcare/the-professional-patient-why-the-chronically-sick-need-to-be-taken-seriously-why-you-need-to-42a6da1486f6"><strong>Learn More</strong></a></p>