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Frequently Asked Questions About The Living Ancestor
Is there any one special message you
would like people to know about the book?
I would like to raise people's awareness of
how healing happens through relationships. The relationship may be with
a primary-care physician and the patient receives a needed prescription
or necessary referral. The relationship may be with a specialist and the
patient undergoes a complex procedure or obtains the results of a difficult
diagnosis. The relationship may be with a pharmacist and the patient discovers
a serious drug interaction or side effect from a medication. The relationship
may be with a nurse and the patient is given a caring touch or understanding
smile. The means of healing always flows through relationships. The more
strategically patients approach these relationships, the greater their opportunity
to defeat health problems.
Do you have a favorite saying, or Dr. Kongism?
My favorite saying in The Living Ancestor' is
Adversity Teaches Life's Most Valuable Lessons. I like this saying because
I think it is especially true in healthcare. We tend to undervalue our health
until our health is threatened, and then we realize our health is truly
priceless. If this book prevents just one serious illness, it will all have
been worthwhile.
Why did you write the book?
In 2000, I founded DrPEN¨, The Doctors' Patient
Education Network, and the book grew out of our mission for the company.
Our mission is to advance individual and community health through patient
education. Most patient education books are very dry and boring, so I came
up with the idea of a story to express my ideas. Dr. Kong, 'the living ancestor'
in the book, is a strong character who coaches and mentors Tom, another
lead character, through a health problem and gives him strategies and tactics
on how to deal with the healthcare system.
How is the book impacting the Richmond, Virginia
community?
The pharmacist team at Ukrop's pharmacy has
a mission to improve wellness, nutrition, and disease management in the
Richmond community. They have been very supportive of The Living Ancestor'
and it is available in all Ukrops pharmacies in the greater Richmond area.
We hope that as other pharmacies and healthcare organizations see what is
happening here in Richmond, they too will want to carry the book to improve
the health and wellness of their communities.
Everyone is so frustrated with the healthcare
system today. How do you see The Living Ancestor helping patients cope with
these frustrations'
First, patients need to understand that, although
healing happens through relationships, these relationships are actually
structured as an alliance, not as one-on-one interpersonal relationships.
The goals and interests of the individual participants in alliances vary,
but they are united by a common mission'to prevent or to treat disease and
to care for the patient. Secondly, the roles that the individual participants
play in the alliance are often dictated by circumstances. For example, in
an acute, sudden illness the patient's role is passive, but in a chronic
illness, such as asthma or diabetes, the patient must play an active, determining
role to be successful. Finally, after reading The Living Ancestor? and learning
to approach healing alliances more strategically, patients will become more
confident about working closely with their health professionals. Whether
patients are working with a doctor, pharmacist, or nurse, together they
will be able to establish goals and develop strategic plans to achieve their
final goals.
A lot of people tend to see the health insurance
company as the source of their frustrations. How do you see the health insurance
company'
The disease is the enemy, not the insurance
company. The health insurance company is a corporate member of the healing
alliance. It is very difficult for the means of healing to flow through
health professional relationships without appropriate compensation for services.
It happens through charity, but the whole medical system can not be supported
by charity. Health insurance companies have a duty to their clients not
to pay for unnecessary care, but they also have a corresponding duty to
pay for appropriate care'the right care, at the right place, at the right
time, by the right healthcare provider. A problem arises, though, because
much of what health professionals still do is guided by expert opinion,
rather than evidence. A classic example is the recent 180 degree shift in
recommending hormone replacement therapy. It is suddenly no longer recommended
for post-menopausal women because it increases the risk of cardiovascular
disease. One way a patient can evaluate conflicting recommendations by members
of the healing alliance is to specifically ask the question, " Is this recommendation
based on expert opinion or on clinical evidence'" In general, clinical evidence
is stronger than expert opinion. Unfortunately, the evidence is not always
available. If that is the case, then you need to proceed based on expert
opinion.
Where did you get all these Chinese sayings
from?
Many of them come from the writings of the great
philosophers Lao-tzu and Confucius who both lived around 600-500 B.C. Sun-tzu
was a great Chinese military leader around 300 B.C. My father-in-law and
mother-in-law still live in China and my wife had studied classical Chinese
writings in Nanjing University and helped in translating the sayings and
proverbs.
Who also helped you with the book?
Doug Payne with Riddick Corporate Marketing,
Inc. helped with the layout and illustrations. I am also very grateful to
my editor, Paul Morand, who helped bring the story out more vividly and
make the book easier to read.
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