When you are informed patient, that is, you have knowledge and when you are empowered you can act on that knowledge. Informed by itself is just not good enough. Being informed during a medical crisis means that you have access to knowledge, that is, your diagnosis, treatment options, likely outcome, etc.. However, one must take it a step further to give yourself the greatest chance of obtaining an excellent outcome. Simply put, become empowered so that you can act. That is, be actively involved in making decisions regarding your care(or your patient’s care if you’re a caregiver) in conjunction with your healthcare provider as a result of the knowledge you have obtained. It's about owning your role in the process, not just acquiescing blindly to the treatment that is recommended.

An empowered patient uses the knowledge they have obtained to make wise decisions through their active participation, feels confident and in control, you are essentially a partner with your medical team. Patient involvement in their medical decisions is not what it should be and one very big reason is lack of empowerment. Why do most patients stay passive in the their care? Certainly lack of empowerment is one key piece so how do we improve upon this? How do we improve one's health literacy so that you are not overwhelmed? The medical social network PatientReaction provides this. PatientReaction is building a space where empowerment becomes natural because you’re gaining knowledge from real patients/caregivers that have walked your path. PatientReaction will be an effective tool due to its reliable stories from people that have navigated the same diagnosis and have come out stronger. Your connections with other patients/caregivers reveals an unfiltered truth, that is, you get an honest account of what treatment procedures worked, who provided them-you only wished you knew sooner.

There is no need to worry any longer for PatientReaction is creating a dedicated space for it's users, delivering them the empowerment that reduces fear and gives one the confidence to speak up, for you will be understood by others. Members of the platform will see what patients/caregivers were able to overcome, that is, they were able to get through their medical challenge which makes it easier to believe you can, too. This is the foundation of empowerment. The PatientReaction platform will turn isolation into connections and confusion into clarity.