How to Be a Smart Patient: Four Tips for Taking Charge of Your Health Care

I am getting over a major depressive episode which got bad enough for me to stay off work since the end of October. While I live in a rural area, I never expected the mental health care to be so challenging. I do my best to be an educated patient, but I have never encountered such poor care. In less than two weeks I saw three doctors and stayed in two hospitals. One hospital dismissed me and my insurance rejected me at the second. I have decided that with about a 20 year history of depression problems and all I read says one depressive episode is never all you have, I must move from where I live. Is this something other people have problems with? I have always kept my medical history and such in my head, but your suggestion that I write it down has suddenly hit me with a greater impact. I will be writing down all my history as well as penning a letter to the state govenor about the negative conditions. Thanks for your hints.