Education and Advocacy for Patients with Adrenal Disorders

Patient advocacy is an often overlooked component of the health care system. Patients present with considerable variation in educational attainment and health literacy. Combined with the stressors of facing serious medical illness and rampant, readily available misinformation, variation in health literacy presents a challenge for patients and clinicians when making medical decisions. Due to the relative rarity and obscure presentation of many adrenal disorders, patient and clinician education/advocacy are central to improving health outcomes. Herein, we provide a personal patient story to illustrate the difficulty of facing a serious adrenal condition and resources for education at the point of care.