Navigating Your Healthcare Journey book by Z. Colette Edwards and Charlene Rothkopf

Get the healthcare you need and deserve

Guidance, insights, and practical tips that will help you become empowered as you make your way through the challenges of the healthcare system

Hello and Welcome

Z. Colette Edwards, MD, MBA - Author of Navigating Your Healthcare Journey

Z. Colette Edwards

Charlene Rothkopf - Author of Navigating Your Healthcare Journey

Charlene Rothkopf

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

  • “The personal stories and lessons learned in “Navigating Your Health Care Journey” highlight the importance of taking ownership of your health and of being your own advocate. It shares personal experiences of what can go wrong in this complicated, fragmented health care ecosystem when information isn’t readily available to get the right care at the right time in the right place. “Navigating Your Health Care Journey” is a wake-up call for patients and caregivers to proactively seek out resources to help understand treatment options and where to go for care.“

    Brian Marcotte
    Past CEO and President, Business Group on Health
    Former Honeywell Executive

  • “The best that healthcare has to offer has never been better, while getting the best out of healthcare has never been harder. This book is an essential guide to anyone who is, was, or ever will be a patient; to anyone who has, or will ever have a loved one in need of urgent care. In short: all of us!”

    David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM
    Founder and CEO, Diet ID and the True Health Initiative
    Past President, American College of Lifestyle Medicine
    Founding Director, Prevention Research Center, Yale University - Griffin Hospital

  • “Everyone needs a navigator for our $4 trillion, impossibly complicated healthcare system. Sadly, most patients never get the personal attention they so deserve. Enter Edwards and Rothkopf with the best navigation system I have ever seen. Everyone will be a patient, and everyone needs to read this book.”

    David Nash, MD, MBA
    Founding Dean Emeritus, Jefferson University College of Population Health
    Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N Grandon Professor
    Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Medical Quality and Population Health

  • “The book is excellent, and I say that with the highest praise. It is easy to read, clear, and understandable. I liked the format—filled with enough information and great stories which are engaging and thought-provoking. I can’t tell you which chapter I liked the best because they were all great.”

    Carol Oravec, RN

  • “Navigating Your Healthcare Journey” is the go-to practical guide for patients and their families traversing the often tortuous terrain known as the U.S. healthcare experience.”

    Saria (Carter) Saccocio MD, MHA, FAAFP
    East Region Chief Medical Officer, CareMore Health

  • “Navigating Your Healthcare Journey” is filled with useful and understandable information about how our healthcare system works. This practical guide should be required reading for healthcare management students and medical, nursing, and other health professional students. It is refreshing to see things from the view of the patient and understand in human terms the challenges they face with our healthcare system each and every day!”

    Amanda Hopkins Tirrell, MBA, FACHE
    President and Founder, Hopkins Tirrell & Associates, LLC

  • “Both comprehensive and concise, this well researched guide is the ideal companion as one journeys, as patient and advocate, through the morass that is healthcare in this country today. It provides the tools to address healthcare decisions with awareness, focus and confidence. You will refer to this guide often as a trusted resource - its format is readable, informative and actionable.”

    Magda Barini-Garcia, MD, MPH
    Health Policy Physician
    Former Senior Medical Advisor on Minority Health & Health Disparities and Quality
    For the HRSA’s Center for Quality
    Captain, U.S. Public Health Service (Retired)

  • “Navigating Your Healthcare Journey” is essential reading for anyone trying to access, coordinate, or live with a chronic condition. I wish our healthcare system did not need such a book. Yet it desperately does. Our healthcare system is confusing, chaotic, and clunky, rather than coordinated and compassionate. Ms. Rothkopf and Dr. Edwards bring tremendous lived experience, profound passion, and compassion to help ensure those needing care can be as healthy as they can be. Their recommendations are grounded in science, ruthlessly practical, and provide deep insights for all.”

    Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD
    Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at University Hospitals
    Former SVP, Patient Safety & Quality, Johns Hopkins
    Founder and former Director of Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety & Quality

  • “I know the authors personally, and I have been repeatedly impressed with their knowledge, experience, thoughtfulness, and their writing. In today's health landscape, almost everyone can benefit from a health advocate. It doesn't matter if you're educated, well-read, highly successful, wealthy, or poor. The medical system is an inscrutable behemoth that even perplexes medical professionals. Don't underestimate the value of an experienced advocate! Read this book and you'll be much better off for it. Best of health!"

    Mark Liponis, MD
    Internist at Stonover Health & Wellness
    Former Chief Medical Officer at Canyon Ranch
    Co-author of Ultraprevention
    Author of Hunter/Farmer Diet Solution and Ultralongevity

  • “This highly readable, engaging book provides a useful compass to anyone trying to navigate the complexities of our healthcare system.”

    David B. Hellmann, MD, M.A.C.P.
    Aliki Perroti Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
    Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Innovative Medicine

  • “The personal stories and lessons learned in “Navigating Your Health Care Journey” highlight the importance of taking ownership of your health and of being your own advocate. It shares personal experiences of what can go wrong in this complicated, fragmented health care ecosystem when information isn’t readily available to get the right care at the right time in the right place. “Navigating Your Health Care Journey” is a wake-up call for patients and caregivers to proactively seek out resources to help understand treatment options and where to go for care.“

    Brian Marcotte
    Past CEO and President, Business Group on Health
    Former Honeywell Executive

  • “The best that healthcare has to offer has never been better, while getting the best out of healthcare has never been harder. This book is an essential guide to anyone who is, was, or ever will be a patient; to anyone who has, or will ever have a loved one in need of urgent care. In short: all of us!”

    David L. Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, FACLM
    Founder and CEO, Diet ID and the True Health Initiative
    Past President, American College of Lifestyle Medicine
    Founding Director, Prevention Research Center, Yale University - Griffin Hospital

  • “Everyone needs a navigator for our $4 trillion, impossibly complicated healthcare system. Sadly, most patients never get the personal attention they so deserve. Enter Edwards and Rothkopf with the best navigation system I have ever seen. Everyone will be a patient, and everyone needs to read this book.”

    David Nash, MD, MBA
    Founding Dean Emeritus, Jefferson University College of Population Health
    Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N Grandon Professor
    Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of Medical Quality and Population Health

  • “The book is excellent, and I say that with the highest praise. It is easy to read, clear, and understandable. I liked the format—filled with enough information and great stories which are engaging and thought-provoking. I can’t tell you which chapter I liked the best because they were all great.”

    Carol Oravec, RN

  • “Navigating Your Healthcare Journey” is the go-to practical guide for patients and their families traversing the often tortuous terrain known as the U.S. healthcare experience.”

    Saria (Carter) Saccocio MD, MHA, FAAFP
    East Region Chief Medical Officer, CareMore Health

  • “Navigating Your Healthcare Journey” is filled with useful and understandable information about how our healthcare system works. This practical guide should be required reading for healthcare management students and medical, nursing, and other health professional students. It is refreshing to see things from the view of the patient and understand in human terms the challenges they face with our healthcare system each and every day!”

    Amanda Hopkins Tirrell, MBA, FACHE
    President and Founder, Hopkins Tirrell & Associates, LLC

  • “Both comprehensive and concise, this well researched guide is the ideal companion as one journeys, as patient and advocate, through the morass that is healthcare in this country today. It provides the tools to address healthcare decisions with awareness, focus and confidence. You will refer to this guide often as a trusted resource - its format is readable, informative and actionable.”

    Magda Barini-Garcia, MD, MPH
    Health Policy Physician
    Former Senior Medical Advisor on Minority Health & Health Disparities and Quality For the HRSA’s Center for Quality
    Captain, U.S. Public Health Service (Retired)

  • “Navigating Your Healthcare Journey” is essential reading for anyone trying to access, coordinate, or live with a chronic condition. I wish our healthcare system did not need such a book. Yet it desperately does. Our healthcare system is confusing, chaotic, and clunky, rather than coordinated and compassionate. Ms. Rothkopf and Dr. Edwards bring tremendous lived experience, profound passion, and compassion to help ensure those needing care can be as healthy as they can be. Their recommendations are grounded in science, ruthlessly practical, and provide deep insights for all.”

    Peter Pronovost, MD, PhD
    Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at University Hospitals
    Former SVP, Patient Safety & Quality, Johns Hopkins
    Founder and former Director of Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety & Quality

  • “I know the authors personally, and I have been repeatedly impressed with their knowledge, experience, thoughtfulness, and their writing. In today's health landscape, almost everyone can benefit from a health advocate. It doesn't matter if you're educated, well-read, highly successful, wealthy, or poor. The medical system is an inscrutable behemoth that even perplexes medical professionals. Don't underestimate the value of an experienced advocate! Read this book and you'll be much better off for it. Best of health!"

    Mark Liponis, MD
    Internist at Stonover Health & Wellness
    Former Chief Medical Officer at Canyon Ranch
    Co-author of Ultraprevention
    Author of Hunter/Farmer Diet Solution and Ultralongevity

  • “This highly readable, engaging book provides a useful compass to anyone trying to navigate the complexities of our healthcare system.”

    David B. Hellmann, MD, M.A.C.P.
    Aliki Perroti Professor of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
    Director, Johns Hopkins Center for Innovative Medicine

Our Experiences

as a patient with an extended and complicated illness and as a physician who has tried to approach patients with empathy and compassion

motivated us to write this book

What we want you to know

  • As a patient or caregiver, you have the power and the right to speak up and advocate for your healthcare needs.

  • Don't assume that all of your healthcare is well-coordinated and that every doctor has the necessary information about you to provide the most appropriate care.

  • Proactively educating yourself and being prepared can allow you to make better decisions and those that are right for your own unique situation.

  • You know your body best. Trust your instincts and ask questions when something doesn’t feel right.

  • Finding ways to maintain your emotional well-being is just as important as treating your physical health.

  • Gaining advocacy skills, and the confidence to use them could reduce the likelihood of a misdiagnosis, a delay in treatment, experiencing medical gaslighting, and/or reduce the cost of your care. It could potentially even save your life.

Although it may not always feel that way, especially when you’re sick, you have more power than you realize.

pages from the guide - 20 questions to ask your doctor

DOWNLOAD OUR GUIDE

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

Our hope is to help you, the patient or caregiver, become empowered with greater knowledge and the confidence to act as a strong advocate for yourself and your loved ones throughout your unique healthcare journey.

What we want you to know

  • As a patient or caregiver, you have the power and the right to speak up and advocate for your healthcare needs.

  • Don't assume that all of your healthcare is well-coordinated and that every doctor has the necessary information about you to provide the most appropriate care.

  • Proactively educating yourself and being prepared can allow you to make better decisions and those that are right for your own unique situation.

  • You know your body best. Trust your instincts and ask questions when something doesn’t feel right.

  • Finding ways to maintain your emotional well-being is just as important as treating your physical health.

  • Gaining advocacy skills, and the confidence to use them could reduce the likelihood of a misdiagnosis, a delay in treatment, experiencing medical gaslighting, and/or reduce the cost of your care. It could potentially even save your life.

Although it may not always feel that way, especially when you’re sick, you have more power than you realize.

Upcoming and past events

  • “Navigating Your Healthcare Journey“

    Coffee and Conversation
    Arlington Neighborhood Village

    April 24, 2024

    watch here

  • “Desperate for a Diagnosis“ #15

    “Navigating Your Healthcare Journey” with Charlene Rothkopf, MA and Z. Colette Edwards, MD, MBA
    hosted by Laura Nozicka

    Sept. 13, 2023

    Watch here

  • “Aging Matters“

    Charlene Rothkopf and Z. Colette Edwards speak with podcast host Cheryl Beversdorf

    August 25, 2023

    Listen Here

  • “Good Day Orange County“

    Charlene Rothkopf and Z. Colette Edwards talk with Lauren Solomon

    June 21, 2023

    WATCH HERE

  • “Navigating Patient Journeys“

    “You’re a Patient Too”
    Z. Colette Edwards talks
    with Chris Hempill,
    WoeBot Health | NYU McSilver Institute
    Fellow-in-Residence

    June 6, 2023

    watch here

  • “30 Minutes“ #244

    Z. Colette Edwards talks
    with Ruchin Kansal

    Channel 23
    Danbury, CT

    Feb. 21, 2023

    Watch Here