I am not sure how our medical system can be fixed to allow doctors to do the best they can, but sometimes the problems may be partly the fault of patients and/or their advocates. For example, when I was forced to help myself after losing my drivers’ license, I slowly began to realize how I supported the existence of the big problems in medicine by just accepting what doctors told me, without thinking for myself and demanding answers.

One example: the system here in Nevada lists your drug allergies on your permanent medical record, but their definition of « allergic » is anything but scientific. And you are listed as allergic to a whole class of medications, not just the one you tried. If you vomit after taking med #1, who knows why you vomited ? There is no logic in concluding that you are allergic to a class of medications. I just accepted their word that I was allergic to the class of meds, when I should have helped the docs use their to brains to observe accurately and record correctly. Patients should speak up, complain, ask questions, make it hard for doctors to go along with the broken system.