Doctor’s Doctor Home. IMHO, these two pathologists use the language of empowerment —

Patients should be more in charge of their own care. One way to do this is to learn as much about your
disease as you can. Much of the information you need is already accessible, you just need to ask for it.

The laboratory, surgical pathology, and cytology reports are your property, but most patients do not ask for
copies. This web site is dedicated to keeping patients informed and in control.

— to prey on patients’ fears and take them for a ride. After they hook you in, you get to the heart of their site, where they offer to “translate” your pathology report or lab test results “into plain English” for $50 a pop. Save your money, I’ll empower you for free: as this web site points out, you should feel free to request a copy of any of your lab tests or pathology reports; it’s your property and you have a right to it for the asking. But the appropriate physician to get to interpret it is your own, with whom you have a treatment relationship. S/he knows the particulars of your health situation which can put the lab values in context, the most medically responsible way to interpret them for you. (A generic interpretation reminds me of the booklets you can buy on the corner newsstand offering “cookbook” interpretations of your dreams.) Most physicians should be willing to do this with you, and if yours doesn’t satisfy you in this respect, then be empowered enough to consider finding a different doctor.

And, in related news, the New York Times says Talking Back to Doctors is Good Medicine, warning that the baby boomers are poised to become uppity senior health consumers.