MANILA, Philippines?Intimidated by busy doctors who seem to scowl at patients who ask too many questions? Are you the type who would just accept everything?lock, stock and barrel?in an important diagnostic result? Are you apprehensive of probing your doctor about a drug that he or she prescribed to you?

With many hospitals in the Philippines showing off their newly acquired state-of-the-art facilities and their pool of medical experts, The Medical City makes a timely reminder: no matter how high-tech or highly trained a hospital and its staff are, patients still must ask questions.

Patient empowerment

Margaret Bengzon, head of strategic services of The Medical City, said the hospital?s advocacy of patient empowerment started last year. She said that through this campaign, The Medical City hopes to see a rise of ?proactive patients,? those who are not afraid to ask questions and who take more responsibility in the management of their own health.

?Don?t be afraid to ask questions because if you don?t, you won?t know what choices you have. And you cannot make informed decisions over those range of choices and what?s right for you,? Bengzon noted.

Aside from asking questions, patients are encouraged to volunteer information such as lifestyle habits, medical history, the nature of his or her job, sleeping patterns, or anything that might have an impact on one?s well-being or on the specific condition that treatment is being sought for.

Programs launched

The institution has launched a number of programs to supplement its advocacy, covering a wide range of issues including parenting, patients? rights and responsibilities, and learning to cope with medical problems.

The Medical City?s The Palliative Care Center, for instance, is where patients with terminal illnesses are given holistic health care.

?The thing about patient partnership is that on one level, each person?s disease is his own, which means that my heart disease, for example, is different from yours even if we might have nominally the same symptoms. Part of our advocacy is for the doctor to engage the patient to understand what about the disease makes it (uniquely) his,? Bengzon explained.

The hospital?s unusual route has this rationale: The road to recovery is a synergy between the physician and the patient; what the patient brings to the table is as important as the doctor?s prognosis.