“Meet the Woman Who Took a Stand Against Inefficient Healthcare: Her Viral Medical Binder Sparks a National Conversation!”
Isn’t it just a riot when you’re sitting in a doctor’s office, feeling like just a number, and suddenly realize your health concerns are being treated like a poorly written sitcom? Believe me, I’ve been there! It’s way too common—especially for women—to have our health issues brushed aside or dismissed, leaving us in a frustrating loop of endless doctor visits. Well, one fierce advocate, Jessica Wetz, decided to turn the tables on this maddening situation. She created a cunning solution that combines her entire medical history into one handy binder—lab results, treatment history, the works! By bringing this binder to her appointments, she arms herself against the naysayers, turning those dreaded consultations into productive exchanges. Intrigued? Let’s dive deeper into this innovative approach and discover how it’s shaking the medical narrative. LEARN MORE
Few things are as frustrating as having your health concerns dismissed by a doctor. Sadly, this is an all-too-common experience, especially for women. Many find themselves jumping through endless hoops, searching for answers, and battling exhaustion along the way.
Disability and human rights advocate Jessica Wetz decided she’d had enough. To make her appointments more productive, she came up with a smart solution: compiling all her medical records—lab results, diagnoses, and treatment history—into a single binder. By bringing it to every visit, she feels prepared to address any doubts or questions about her health.
Jessica took to TikTok to share her approach, and her videos quickly went viral. Read on to discover how her system works and why it’s made such a difference in her journey.
After dealing with dismissive doctors one too many times, disability and human rights activist Jessica Wetz came up with a solution
Image credits: Image by Freepik (not the actual photo)
She put together a medical binder for her appointments, and it has made her life so much easier
Image credits: jessicawetz6
“Medical binders make things faster for doctors, that’s why we use them and why they thank me for them. Let me explain how it works.
I had a doctor say to me, ‘There’s no way you had straightening of lumbar curvature at 14.’
You don’t have to believe me, I have the report right here. Let’s read it together.”
Image credits: jessicawetz6
“I had a doctor say to me, ‘Okay, Jessica, I’m gonna order you some labs and then in six weeks, we’ll go over them.’
I go, ‘What blood work do you want?’
He goes, ‘Vitamin D, vitamin B, iron.’
‘Perfect, I had it 2 days ago. I have it right in front of me. We don’t need to wait 6 weeks.’
He’s like, ‘Oh, that was easy.’”
Image credits: jessicawetz6
“I had a doctor say to me, ‘Okay, Jessica, I went over your results, everything is normal, have a good day, bye.’
‘Hold up, doc, my CT showed liver disease.’
He goes, ‘No, Jessica, you never had a CT, you had an MRI.’
I go, ‘No, doc, pull it up, you have the report, I’ve had both.’
‘No, Jessica, let me explain to you the difference.’
‘Nope, I have it right in front of me, you can read it yourself. See? July 2023, CT of the abdomen. Dilated bile ducts, primary sclerosing cholangitis. Follow-up MRCP recommended.’
‘Oh, ok, yeah, I’ll order that.’”
Image credits: jessicawetz6
“And you saying a summary page is funny, because I do have a summary page that lists all my diagnosis and [stuff].
And one time, a doctor, I said I have Ehlers Danlos, he goes, ‘You have Ehlers Danlos? Like, a doctor diagnosed you with that?’
I go, ‘Yup.’
He goes, ‘What’s the doctor’s name?’
‘You don’t have to believe me, dude, I literally have the report right here. There you go.’”
Image credits: jessicawetz6
“So a summary report doesn’t do s**t, the purpose of the binder is to prove to them what other doctors have said because they’re not gonna take my word for it.
I had a doctor say to me, ‘Okay, Jess, we’re gonna order you an ultrasound.’
‘I already had an ultrasound a week ago.’
‘Yeah, we know, but we’ve called that hospital multiple times and they won’t send the report over.’
‘Guess what, I have it right here. No need to wait a month and waste somebody else missing out on an ultrasound, I already did the work for you.’”
Image credits: jessicawetz6
“So now you know, when you see a patient with a binder, they’re not there to read it to you front to back.
If I’m trying to talk to you about my knee pain, I’m not reading you my colonoscopy report. That’s not relevant.
I’m not reading you my echocardiagram, that’s not relevant. Unless you accuse me of never having one and you wanna argue with me.
Because with this book, I can shut down every [freakin’] time a doctor wanted to sit there for 15 minutes and mansplain some [nonsense] to me that’s not true.
So talk about wasting time, this is how I avoid doctors wasting my [freakin’] time.”
You can watch the videos in full below
@jessicawetz6 Replying to @iLike314159 Medical Binders PREVENT doctors from wasting limited time and resources. Its not a story book, its references when relevant. Female patients arnt believed so we must provide proof. Complex cases with huge files from different facilites result in serious things getting missed when you dont keep track yourself. Complaining that doctors dont have time for patients to make their job faster is irrational. #chronicillness #medicaladvocate #misdiagnosed #rareillness ♬ original sound – Jessica Wetz 🍉#6
@jessicawetz6 Replying to @Jessi ✨️ ♬ original sound – Jessica Wetz 🍉#6
@jessicawetz6 Replying to @Carlina Oglesby ♬ original sound – Jessica Wetz 🍉#6
Women and minorities are 20% to 30% more likely than white men to experience a misdiagnosis
If carrying your entire medical history to every appointment, especially as a woman, feels excessive, consider this: every year, 12 million adults in the U.S. are misdiagnosed, often with serious consequences.
