Have you ever done the RealAge test (at RealAge.com)? It's an age reduction plan one can fill out on-line. It can be tricky. You want to lie a bit (never smoked, run every day) because the truth hurts. When you get the answer after a few pages of questions about diet, family and exercise you want to scream at the computer when it comes back with your RealAge—"No way! That can't be me! I'm a much younger woman!"
This bit of torture was developed by Dr. Micahel Roizen, a 59-year-old internist and anesthesiologist whose RealAge is 41.2.
Sponsored by St. Luke's Wood River Foundation, he will read from, sign and answer questions on "You: The Smart Patient: An Insiders Guide for Getting the Best Treatment," at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Limelight Room in the Sun Valley Inn.
Roizen is continuously listed as one of the 1,000 Best Doctors in the U.S. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Harvard's Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, worked in the Yellow Beret of the Public Health Service at The National Institutes of Health and did his anesthesiology residency at University of California San Francisco.
He is currently an internist and anesthesiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. Solo and with his co-author, Dr. Mehmet C. Oz, he has also published several other books in the "You" series, including "You: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger." In October 2007, "You: Staying Young: The Owner's Manual for Extending Your Warranty" will be published.
The authors offer great tips in "Smart Patient" in a friendly and accessible manner. In fact, the book is a bit cheeky. For example, Chapter 5 is entitled "How to Case a Hospital."
There are cartoons and easy-to-follow guidelines, questions, on-line resources and quizzes. For instance, did you know it's better to sit on a plastic chair than a cloth one in a hospital waiting room? No? Well, it seems because plastic is easier to disinfect its safer. What's the most germ-ridden thing in a hospital room? Believe it or not it's not your roommate but the TV remote control. Ask for a surgical glove to put over it before you use it.
The best people to ask for recommendations, according to the authors, are emergency room nurses, pharmacists and anesthesiologists since they see all the action—good and bad.
In the back of this indispensable handbook is an appendix of jargon terms one might hear in the hospital: Code Pink, AMI, contraindication. As well as pages of sample forms, including a Living Will and Power of Attorney for Health Care, and more than 20 pages of resources.
All of the "You" books are published in association with the non-profit Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. A non-profit organization it is the national leader in improving patient safety and health care quality, as well as being the principal standards setter and evaluator for a variety of health care organizations.
Dr. Michael Roizen
