Healthcare Powered by You: Self-Advocacy in a Broken System

Healthcare advocate Joyce Griggs shares her journey from navigating her partner’s dangerous post-surgery crisis to founding United States of Healthcare, a platform empowering patients to become their own advocates. Drawing on 20 years in healthcare communications, Joyce opens up about the assumptions that nearly caused tragedy, and why self-advocacy is as essential a life skill as financial literacy. She explains how preparation, asking the right questions, and challenging assumptions can change outcomes—sometimes even save lives. In this conversation, Joyce highlights practical tools from her course Healthcare Powered by You, including how to prepare for doctor visits, document family health histories, build care teams, and navigate financial and insurance barriers. She also shares her innovative integration of AI into advocacy education, helping patients cut through information overload and feel confident in high-pressure medical situations. Listeners will walk away with actionable strategies to advocate for themselves or loved ones, and a fresh perspective on why self-advocacy isn’t optional—it’s survival. Resources Mentioned: https://www.unitedstatesofhealthcare.com Doctor’s Visit Checklist: checklist.unitedstatesofhealthcare.com Healthcare Powered by You (course on self-advocacy skills) AI in patient advocacy: foundational prompt for asking healthcare questions South by Southwest (SXSW) Health & Tech corridor Key Topics Covered: Why self-advocacy is the “first aid” of healthcare literacy The gap between knowing the system and surviving it Common assumptions patients make that can be dangerous How to prepare for rushed doctor’s visits (before, during, and after) Essential questions to ask providers about treatment options and medications The role of AI in making healthcare information accessible What patients misunderstand about insurance, coverage, and rationing