Archive for the 'General Commentary' Category
November 23rd, 2011 by Trisha Torrey
This column first appeared
in the Syracuse Post Standard
November 22, 2011
………………………………..
You may be among the millions of Americans who will travel during the upcoming holidays. Travel takes you out of your normal environment and disturbs your routine. If you have health issues, like a chronic disease, an injury, or even a short-term illness, it’s smart to prepare ahead of time for those changes and accommodate for them where possible. You’ll want to be sure your travel doesn’t upset your health, and your health doesn’t upset your travel.
Drugs, supplements and supplies: Pack enough to cover the days you’ll be away, plus extra, in case flights are delayed or a blizzard closes the roads. If you fly, remember that airlines can lose checked bags, so keep all medical supplies with you in your carry-on bag. Any time difference at your destination may require an adjustment of your drug routine. Make yourself a chart ahead of time to keep your regimen on schedule.
Airport security: The TSA has strict rules about what can, or cannot go through security. Medications, oxygen, inhalers and other medical items must be packed in certain ways, and will be screened through x-ray machines. Go online before you fly to learn to learn how to get your medical equipment or materials through security. http://1.usa.gov/TSAMedical
Foods: Alert your host ahead of time if you have special dietary requirements, or if certain foods upset your digestion. Mention any food allergies you have or conflicts with drugs you take. Plans can be made to accommodate your needs when they are discussed ahead of time.
Contagious diseases: Of course, holiday time is often cold and flu time, too. Get your flu shot prior to travel. Wash or sanitize your hands as often as possible, and keep them away from your mouth, nose or eyes. If you are highly susceptible or your immune system is compromised, consider wearing a face mask to protect yourself from others who might be contagious. If you have a cold, then cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands, to prevent infecting others.
Long Distance Travel: If you’ll be sitting for great lengths of time in a car or plane, you risk potentially deadly blood clots in your legs called DVT (deep vein thrombosis.). Keep your blood circulating by taking hourly breaks to walk around and stretch.
These travel preparations will keep you healthier and will make your visit more enjoyable, too.
Here are some additional resources for
making sure you stay healthy while traveling:
• Tips for Healthy Travel
Before You Go, As You Travel, and At Your Destination
• Tips for Healthy International Travel
……………………………………………………………………………………
Want More Patient Empowerment?
Find Hundreds of Articles at:
Every Patient’s Advocate
About.com Patient Empowerment
…and…
sign up for 2x per month newsletters of
Patient Empowerment Tips
September 29th, 2011 by Trisha Torrey
Please note that this column first appeared in the Syracuse Post Standard on September 27, 2011
………………………………..
In my last column I shared an open letter to our local hospitals which resulted from my review of their most recent “report cards.” These report cards score hospitals on their quality of service and safety records. Despite a few improvements, problems were exposed at all of them – problems that continue to put us patients in danger or simply make us miserable.
Think about that. Danger! Too many of us patients enter the hospital with an expectation that, whatever our medical problem is, it will be improved because we have been hospitalized. Instead we find ourselves the victims of deadly infections, drug errors, falls, surgical mistakes, even crimes.
And think about the second part. Misery! When we are at our most vulnerable, perhaps unable to walk on our own, or even stay conscious, we may be at the mercy of staff who ignore our complaints about everything from intense pain, to the need to use the bathroom.
The potential for even more danger and distress is growing, too. The numbers of hospitalized patients are growing as baby boomers age, and as healthcare reform provides more patients with access to healthcare. As time goes on, the ability of hospital personnel to keep us safe and relatively comfortable will be taxed even further.
So how can we patients ensure our own safety and comfort? We’ve previously looked at important safety precautions to take during a hospital stay. But the best approach is to begin with safety and satisfaction in mind. That means reviewing hospitals’ track records before we ever need hospitalization, and making our best choice based on what a hospital has already demonstrated it can do.
Which is why those report cards mentioned in my last column are important. They are tools we patients can use to help us choose the best hospital.
Let’s use them!
The latest New York Hospital Report Cards can be found at http://www.myhealthfinder.com/newyork11/ . Medicare’s website, http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov also offers information about hospital safety and satisfaction levels.
Finally, if you’ve been hospitalized, there’s something you can do to help future patients make hospital decisions. After a hospital stay, some patients are surveyed about the safety, communications and quality of their care. By answering and returning the survey, you’ll be contributing to hospital ratings of the future, and providing valuable feedback to help our local hospitals improve their service, too.
……………… ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON THIS TOPIC ………………
More Hospital Report Cards (more states)
How to Choose the Best Hospital for You
A Patient’s Guide to Hospital Infections
How to Prevent Hospital Infections
……………………………………………………………………………………
Want More Patient Empowerment?
Find Hundreds of Articles at:
Every Patient’s Advocate
About.com Patient Empowerment
…and…
sign up for 2x per month newsletters of
Patient Empowerment Tips
July 21st, 2011 by Trisha Torrey
(as published in the Syracuse Post StandardJuly 19, 2011)
When you must cope with a medical problem or manage a chronic illness, you’ll find you have a variety of challenges and questions.
For clinical, medical questions, your most trusted resource should be your doctor.
But when it comes to everyday management of your illness or condition, then you may be able to learn much more from other patients with your same diagnosis.
The answers and resources provided by other patients or their caregivers can be invaluable. Have they ever experienced similar side effects to drugs? How do they cope with pain? Who is a good doctor for a second opinion? Have they found any effective complementary or alternative therapies? These aren’t medical questions – they are experience questions.
Where can you find patients with your same diagnosis? Support groups.
There are support and affinity groups for every diagnosis or set of symptoms you can imagine. From Alzheimer’s to hypertension, from Lyme Disease to depression – patients and caregivers are sharing information with other patients every day.
Some support groups are local. They may be sponsored by local hospitals, large physician practice groups or by associations that represent specific medical conditions or problems. Ask the nurse in your doctor’s office for information about these groups and find one that meets at a convenient time and place.
There are also thousands of Internet support groups. Many independent health and medical websites provide forums for individual diseases or conditions. Some of the same organizations that sponsor local support groups provide online versions, too. Link here to find listings and additional information about these groups.
If you decide to participate with an online support group, you’ll want to do so safely. Remember, that even if they claim to be, other participants are probably not medical professionals. Be sure to verify with your doctor any medical information provided.
Conversely, don’t try to give medical advice to others. You aren’t a medical professional either!
Finally, take steps to protect your privacy. Stay as anonymous as possible. Don’t provide information that could identify you. Use a first name only, and provide general geographical information if location is necessary at all. Don’t use your personal email address publicly because you’ll open yourself up to spam.
You’ll be pleased at the many ways other patients and caregivers can help you, and you’ll feel empowered by sharing your own experiences, too.
………. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON THIS TOPIC ………………
Using Online Support Groups, Forums and Message Boards
Social Networking for Health Information
How to Verify Credible Health Information
Use Blogs and Wikis to Find Health Information
……………………………………………………………………………………
Want More Patient Empowerment?
Find Hundreds of Articles at:
Every Patient’s Advocate
About.com Patient Empowerment
…and…
sign up for 2x per month newsletters of
Patient Empowerment Tips
……………………………………………………………………………………
July 10th, 2011 by Trisha Torrey
This is a bit of a diversion from my usual patient empowerment topics, but I hope you’ll find it of interest. Definitely seems worth sharing.
It’s an Ode to the Bettys – two women I have long admired. They never met each other, but they shared a name, and yes – they are (kinda sorta) doppelgangers, too.
On the left is Betty Torrey – my mother – who was, of course, an inspiration throughout my life. I’ve shared Mom and her Alzheimer’s Disease with you before. Mom never really understood my change in careers to supporting patients because by the time I made the change, her disease was too advanced for her to be able to understand. But she would have loved it. And she would have been right there with us. I know she was supportive in spirit.
On the right, of course, is Betty Ford. Betty Ford was an inspiration for her willingness to speak out, to talk about reality, to confront issues that had been, to that point, unspeakable. She spoke about breast cancer when no one had dared use the word ‘breast’ before in the media. When her family realized she had become addicted to pain killers, they intervened. When she learned to control her addiction, she took an even bigger step and built a center to help others learn to control their addictions, too.
Betty Torrey was an inspiration to me and others around her. Betty Ford was an inspiration to (perhaps) millions.
May both of them rest in peace knowing the positive impacts they had on their worlds.
……………………………………………………………………………………
Want More Patient Empowerment?
Find Hundreds of Articles at:
Every Patient’s Advocate
About.com Patient Empowerment
…and…
sign up for 2x per month newsletters of
Patient Empowerment Tips
