Leslie D. Michelson - The Patients Playbook: How to Save Your Life and the Lives of Those You Love

PRAISE FOR LESLIE D. MICHELSON S

THE PATIENTS PLAYBOOK

Mr. Michelson implores patients to be intensely involved in their own care.He urges patientsto bring their A-game to the doctors office.[He] advocates smart care, not more care.The Patients Playbook isnt offering policy; its offering practical advice, preaching what many physicians and health-policy gurus practice when a loved one gets sick. Its a timely reminder that, in our worthy effort to improve the health of populations, we should not lose sight of medicines primary goal: delivering the best possible care to each individual patient.

The Wall Street Journal

An invaluable resource.Michelson astutelymaps out a plan to organize competent medical care when needed. Weaving vignettes of actual patients into his presentation, he provides advice and resources that help individuals become medically prepared, make sound health-care decisions, and more likely achieve favorable results.He describes how to shield yourself from potentially dangerous overtreatment, identify the best specialists for specific diseases (beyond a simple Google search), and establish a strategy for possible future visits to the emergency room.

Booklist (starred review)

A primer on making the right moves as an active participant in your health care.Michelson is the CEO of a company that works with patients to get the best possible carenot only from the best possible physicians (though that often factors in), but also through guiding them through the process described in this book, one that shifts the role of care director over to the patient.Akin to becoming an expert on yourself[you] learn the best ways to empower doctors to deliver the most accurate care.

Kirkus Reviews

This [book] is thick with advice and instructions.The steps Michelson offers for negotiating the system mirror what his company does for patients.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

LESLIE D. MICHELSON

THE PATIENTS PLAYBOOK

Leslie D. Michelson is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Private Health Management, a unique patient-focused company dedicated to helping individuals and corporate clients obtain exceptional medical care. He is a highly sought-after expert who has spent the last thirty years guiding thousands of people through our complex health care system. Prior to founding Private Health Management in 2007, Michelson was the CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation. He received his B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from Yale Law School. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Beth.

FIRST VINTAGE BOOKS EDITION, OCTOBER 2016

Copyright 2015, 2016 by Leslie D. Michelson

Foreword copyright 2015 by Peter T. Scardino, M.D.

All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., Toronto. Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, in 2015.

Vintage and colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC.

The Patients Playbook is available at a discount when purchased in quantity for sales promotions or corporate use. Special editions, which include personalized covers, excerpts, and corporate imprints, can be created when purchased in large quantities.

For more information, please call (212) 572-2232 or e-mail .

The Library of Congress has cataloged the Knopf edition as follows:

Michelson, Leslie D.

The patients playbook : how to save your life and the lives of those you love / by Leslie D. Michelson

pages cm

1. Patient advocacy. 2. Patient education. 3. Medical errorsPrevention. 4. MedicineDecision making. 5. Self-care, Health.

I. Title.

R727.45.M53 2015

610.696dc23 2015014325

Vintage Trade Paperback ISBN9780804170437

Ebook ISBN9780385352291

Cover design: Abby Weintraub
Illustrations by Peter Mendelsund
Cover photograph Masterfile

www.vintagebooks.com

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IN MEMORY OF

Erwin Michelson, my father, whose integrity, courage, and leadership

set the bar high, and whose boundless love and confidence

gave me everything I needed to reach for it.

WITH GRATITUDE TO

The many people who have trusted me to help manage their medical care,

enabling me to learn the lessons in this book.

IN HONOR OF

The countless physicians, nurses, aides, and other caregivers

who work tirelessly in the face of formidable obstacles

to provide their patients with the very best care.