Opinion: The patient wish list

Since undergoing a double-lung transplant at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in December 2011, Podge Reed, Jr., has had four medical admissions, two surgical admissions, eight outpatient procedures requiring anesthesia, more than 100 outpatient appointments and 700 labs and other tests. He's amassed enough experiences with the health care system to write a book. So far, though, he's mostly kept it to two letters, totaling 12 pages, to our patient relations office, detailing opportunities for improvement. So when our hospital hosted an employee town hall meeting about patient-centered care, Reed was a natural choice to sit on a panel.