The Professional Patient: Why the chronically sick need to be taken seriously & why you need to help
<p>The term “professional patient” has been used as slang by the medical community to describe someone who they feel is difficult & likely imagining the health issues they have. Today, I’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 & incurable, their health becomes a full time job. The medical appointments, tests, procedures & surgeries, all of the waiting in sterile physician offices, long phone conversations with pharmacies & insurance companies…it all takes a significant amount of time & energy, and that doesn’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’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>