When “Doc Tom” Ferguson first spoke of e-patients in the 1990s – empowered, engaged in their care, etc – those pioneering patients tended to be online. But today almost everyone’s online, empowered or not. In fact being empowered is a separate issue. And today’s “Empowered Patient” column by CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen illustrates that, by highlighting three Hollywood movies about patient engagement, all pre-World Wide Web.
She called this week – she was doing a piece for Oscar week, and the King’s Speech struck her (correctly) as a story of an empowered patient. Excerpts from today’s piece, “The Empowered Patient” Goes To Hollywood: