1. Expert Patient<br />by Pooja Raval<br />Source: Indian Health Journal(http://indianhealthjournal.in)<br /> “Early to bed and early to rise makes you healthy wealthy and wise.”<br />“Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper”<br />“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”.<br />These and many other quotes and sayings have been taught to us since school. We are always advised to foster some habits which avoid sickness and make our health better in many ways.<br />You might be wondering why suddenly I am giving these quotes and asking about being strict about your routine and your diet right. Well the title “Expert Patient” seems attractive lately but just look back into our forefather’s lives and you will find the concept existed years before.<br />You surely must have heard your grandparents advising you to walk a couple of miles every day or any other form of physical exercise to stay fit, drink milk everyday for proper calcium intake, avoid oily and spicy food, eat more raw vegetables etc. I remember my mom telling me to keep a gap of some hours before drinking milk or having ice cream if you just had a dinner which contained onions or garlic or fish. Cheese laden burgers, French fries and fizzy drinks is the latest fashion trend and it looks much cooler if you freak out on “Fast Food”. But people barely know that these foods don’t provide you the necessary nutrients for a healthy living.<br />Not only food, if proper rest and exercises are taken regularly then immunity increases which automatically leads to lesser visits to the doctor.<br />An expert patient is a person who understands and manages his health and takes control of his life leading to an improved and healthy living. The concept of Expert Patient has been on a high within the NHS (National Health Service), England. They have launched an Expert Patient Programme which will help patients to self-manage their health and be more confident suffering less.<br />The objective of the programme is that the expert patient should:<br /> * Be confident and in control of their lives.<br /> * Manage their condition and its treatment partnering with health care professionals and communicate effectively with them.<br /> * Have a practical approach about the impact of their disease and family history and<br /> * Utilize the knowledge to lead a happy life.<br />The people attending the programme will be taught how to:<br /> * Set a goal<br /> * Write an action plan<br /> * Inculcate problem solving skills<br /> * Remain fit and exercise<br /> * Diaphragmatic breathing techniques<br /> * Manage exhaustion<br /> * Take healthy diet<br /> * Have a good social-life.<br /> * Make better use of medications.<br />I would like to conclude by citing out a quote by Elbert Hubbard which states:<br />“If you have health, you probably will be happy, and if you have health and happiness, you have all the wealth you need, even if it is not all you want.”<br />I wish all of you a healthy life!!!<br />About Plus91: <br />Plus91 is a Healthcare Technology firm developing Innovative High Quality Solutions for the Indian Healthcare Industry. These vary in complexity from Simple Practice Management Suites to complicated Telemedicine Enabled EMR's. Plus91 is defining what the next generation of Healthcare needs to be. Maximized across locations, people, solutions and verticals; we cater to a growing mass of people in an integrated and ever changing environment.<br />Disclaimer:<br />All content of this Article is provided quot;
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