I love #1. People who go beyond WebMD, and keep digging to the point where they can have a conversation with a specialist, more as a peer than as a patient, ar

I love #1. People who go beyond WebMD, and keep digging to the point where they can have a conversation with a specialist, more as a peer than as a patient, are a big deal. It's not easy, and I think it's unreasonable to expect that everyone can do this (dig through and understand the primary literature), but if you can it's a big deal. There are so many nuances and complexities and tradeoffs in managing chronic diseases that if you can sit down and make informed decisions yourself and then talk them over with a healthcare provider in a non-adversarial way, it really does put you in the driver's seat as much as possible. It opens up #2 and #3 as well.