Out of Patients
with Matthew Zachary
Welcome to 2026: The Year of the Patient where the sick shall inherit the ballot.
[ARCHIVES] Jargon and the Bastardization of “Patient” (2019)
In 2019, I wondered whether American healthcare had turned “patient” into meaningless industry jargon. An unpublished essay from the archives about patient engagement, consumer power, and a healthcare system very good at talking about the people it serves.
My Book May Have Side Effects: What happens after you understand how American healthcare actually works?
What happens after you understand how American healthcare actually works? The We the Patients reader survey asks whether healthcare literacy creates agency, anger, preparedness, or something more powerful: the expectation that the system should change.
Out of Patients?
Join the recurring Out of Patients dispatch from Matthew Zachary covering the latest American healthcare shenanigans. Essays, podcast episodes, media appearances, book updates, and live events delivered with a sardonic Gen X perspective from a patient who simply refuses to shut up.
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