All about the EMPOWER WorkbookYour Tool for Better Medical AppointmentsDoctor visits can be stressful, and it is easy to leave feeling unheard or missing the answers you need.To help, we created the EMPOWER Workbook—a fillable, easy-to-use guide based on Dr. Marla Barkoff’s patient-advocacy strategy from the 2024 Mast Cell Con. It helps you organize your health details, prepare your questions, and confidently speak up for the care you or your loved one deserve.The workbook walks you step-by-step through:The workbook walks you step-by-step through:Organizing your diagnostic history and health historyDocumenting your triggers and symptom patternsStructuring your medical questions so your doctor can address them efficientlyUnderstanding your treatment options so you can participate in shared decision-making with your healthcare teamHow to use the EMPOWER WorkbookThe Workbook is a practical guide designed to help you organize your health history so that you can have a collaborative communication with your physician. The workbook is an active, personalized roadmap that you will fill out to have as full of a medical picture of yourself as possible Make sure to watch Dr. Marla Barkoff’s video walkthrough of the workbook to learn how to use it correctly. Watch below. It’s important to know that not every prompt in the workbook will apply to you. They are a non-exhaustive list of options to discuss. For example, not every lab report mentioned is necessary or even applicable to your health or to a specific mast cell disease, but if you have that information it may be important for your doctor to know about it.What it is and what is it not:What it is: For patients and caregivers to fill out so that they are as prepared as possible before getting to the doctor’s appointment What it is NOT:The workbook is not for doctors to fill out alongside you or to fill out for you. Bring the workbook as filled out as is relevant for you and use it as a collaborative tool between you and your doctor. It is not for you to give to your doctor and for your doctor to “sign off on.” It is for you to prepare before and then take notes during and for you to keep for your records. Watch the webinar video recording here:Please Note / Disclaimer: The sample details and health information entered into the workbook during Dr. Barkoff’s video walkthrough are purely hypothetical examples used for illustrative purposes only. They are random demonstration entries and do not represent any real patient’s medical case, personal experiences, or clinical recommendations. Your entries should reflect your own unique health journey.Download the workbook Below:NOTE: You will need to save a copy of the digital Workbook to your personal device before you can edit it.EMPOWER Workbook: DIGITAL VERSIONEMPOWER Workbook: PRINTABLE VERSIONAbout the Author:Dr. Marla Barkoff is an Endocrinologist with over 15 years of experience treating people with thyroid disorders. In 2015, she started recognizing symptom patterns in her patients with thyroid disease who continued to feel unwell even after their thyroid hormones were balanced. Notably, she saw flushing and hives along with gastrointestinal distress in many of her patients. Further investigation revealed elevated mast cell mediators in some of these patients, and Dr. Barkoff became fascinated with helping to diagnose and treat Mast Cell Diseases. Dr. Barkoff earned her medical doctorate from Boston University School of Medicine and completed a residency in Internal Medicine at Brown University. She then completed a fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at the University of Chicago, where she conducted research on rare thyroid mutations in the Thyroid Study Unit.In 2016, Dr. Barkoff founded Integrative Endocrinology in Chicago, Illinois to treat patients with Autoimmune Thyroid Disease and Mast Cell Diseases. She is honored to serve on the Medical Advisory Board for The Mast Cell Disease Society.
