About Patients For Change

Grass roots movements often begin with one human being caught up in extraordinary circumstances. In our case, it was Dr. Susan Wright expecting to be listened to and cared for in a safe place, who suddenly found herself caught on a three-trillion-dollar managed healthcare assembly line.

Misdiagnosed, subjected to endless and risky medical procedures and tests with no diagnosis in sight, Dr. Wright was trapped within a system where patients were treated as products (machines in need of repair) instead of living, breathing fellow human beings. To save her life, it was clear that Dr. Wright would need to use her professional healing skills to restore her ability to fight back. If she recovered, she wanted to find a way to share her skills with other patients who are currently, formerly, or about to be, caught up in the same worrisome situation.

Dr. Susan Wright designed and directed programs focused on filling the unmet needs of multiethnic women and children. Some programs attracted both local and national attention. It was personal experience as a patient that led Dr. Wright to write Patient’s Health Care Survival Guide. The book was a prelude to the founding of Patients for Change in an effort to inform the public what was going on with patient care.

Patients are not commodities, they are human beings. The myth of patient-centered, for-profit healthcare is at odds with the truth. It is time for a different approach.