Every Patient's Advocate

10 Patient Empowerment Tips to Post on Your Refrigerator Door

The information center in many homes is the refrigerator door.  From family photos, to postcards to magnets from pizza shops, to phone numbers and kids’ artwork – the important ephemera of our lives can be found on refrigerator doors.

So today I thought I would share some advice that is worth cutting out and sticking to your refrigerator door – 10 empowerment tips that will keep you healthier and help you get the great medical care you deserve.

And if you like them, I invite you to download them (in the form of a small poster) to stick on your refrigerator door! (although – maybe you prefer to stick them on your bathroom mirror or medicine cabinet?  That’s OK too.)

1. Become the expert in your own medical challenges. Read everything you can about your symptoms or diagnosis, ask questions, study anatomy, acquire and review copies of all your medical records. Be the authority on YOU.
2. Using your YOU expertise, partner with your doctors and other providers. While they may have a medical education and experience, YOU are the one who has lived in your body your entire life.  Be an active participant on your own healthcare team. If your provider won’t listen to you, or share in your decision-making, then find one who will.
3. Pursue a second opinionwhenever you are diagnosed with a difficult disease or condition, or surgery, chemo, or long term treatment are prescribed. And if they disagree?  Then seek a third.
4. Don’t be afraid to say NO.  Sometimes less is more. As the authority on YOU, you’ll know when NO is the right answer.
5. Thank your doctors and their staff members when they have been collaborative and helpful.  They work in a tough environment.  Appreciation, when appropriate, can go a long way toward strengthening your partnership.
6. Read and listen past the headlines.  Get the whole story, then pursue additional, objective resources to confirm their veracity and to determine how well they apply to YOU. In particular, be sure Internet health  information is credible.
7. Review your medical bills. Experts tell us that up to 80 percent of medical bills contain errors.  Incorrect bills will eventually cost us all in higher premiums and taxes.
8. Provide support to others. Shared experiences can help others who suffer the same medical challenges you do.  Refer them to good doctors, and support groups, and offer an ear when they want to share their joys, or need to vent.
9. Accept support from others. Whether it’s a loved one, or a professional, sometimes it’s imperative to have an advocate by your side to keep YOU safe, or keep you from being railroaded.
10. Finally, wash your hands regularly and cough or sneeze into your elbow.  Infections are dangerous and deadly whether acquired during a hospital stay, or brought home from school by the kids.  Hygiene can go a long way toward keeping infection at bay and keeping YOU healthy.

Don’t forget – if you like these tips, you can print them out as a small refrigerator poster – here they are.

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Your Most Important Health Resolution for 2012

This column first appeared
in the Syracuse Post Standard
January 3, 2012

When considering health-related resolutions, you probably expect me to wax poetic on the virtue of losing weight or quitting smoking.  But no, this resolution actually trumps them both.

Perhaps the most important health resolution you can make for 2012 is to establish a strong relationship with a primary care provider (PCP). Even if you think you already have the best PCP in the world, you’ll want to read on – because that relationship could change.

There are three reasons you must establish or reinforce a primary care relationship in 2012.

1.    Fewer Doctors
The number of primary care doctors is dwindling and practices are changing.  Doctors are aging into retirement, or leaving their practices due to frustrations with the healthcare system. Because fewer medical students are choosing primary care, those vacancies aren’t being filled.  In addition, some doctors will stop accepting certain types of insurance, including Medicare and Medicaid. Others are joining forces to establish larger, less personal practices.

2.    Healthcare Reform
In 2014, when the biggest portion of the Affordable Care Act kicks in, there will be 32 million new Americans with insurance, and newfound access to healthcare. For some, it will be the first time in their adult lives they’ve been able to afford care.

3.    More Older Patients
As baby boomers age, they will need more care, more often than when they were younger. Further, they are living longer than previous generations, so they’ll need medical services longer, too.

Bottom line – a year or more from now, the competition will be fierce.  All those aging baby boomers, plus those 32 million new patients will need to be absorbed by a dwindling number of primary care doctors. After 2012, it may be impossible for you to find a PCP who is accepting new patients.

Thus – an important resolution!  As best you can, think beyond 2012 and what your medical needs may be. If you don’t have a primary care doctor, find one.  If you have one, but you haven’t seen her in more than a year, then visit her before she decides to drop you from her patient roster. If you have a PCP, but you aren’t happy with the relationship, then make a change in 2012, before it’s too late. If you like your doctor, then ask questions about insurance coverage or practice changes, and then make adjustments if necessary.

That’s a New Year Resolution worth keeping.

Here is more information about finding a primary care doctor:

The Shortage of Primary Care Doctors

Finding Dr. Right

How to Decide Whether to Change Doctors

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The Ultimate Gift – Organ Donation

This column first appeared
in the Syracuse Post Standard
December 20, 2011

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I live in Central New York State, where we are grieving the loss of 17-year-old Taylor Fleming who died in a car accident last week.

In the face of their unimaginable heartbreak and pain, Taylor’s parents decided to donate her organs and tissues, knowing that at least something good could come of her death. They realized their loss, and Taylor’s donation, will help others by extending their lives, or improving the quality of their lives.

Taylor’s eyes will provide sight to someone who has been blind. Her skin will help a burn victim heal. Her lungs may help someone with cystic fibrosis or COPD.  Her heart, kidneys and liver will restore lives. Sixty transplants from Taylor’s body are already benefitting others.

Like Taylor’s parents did on her behalf, we can make the choice to donate our own organs and tissues when the time comes, too – whether we die through tragedy, or from natural causes.

Sadly, despite knowing that tens of thousands across the country are waiting for transplants, too few people consider themselves eligible to donate. You may believe you can’t be a donor, but you are probably wrong.

For example, some people think their religions preclude organ donation.  But no major American religions restrict donation, including Christians, Jews and Muslims.

Some people believe that if they are chronically or terminally ill, they can’t or shouldn’t donate.  But that is also a myth. Your donation may not take place directly to an individual, but your contribution to medical research may ultimately improve thousands or millions of lives.

There are three important steps for you to take if you decide to donate your organs or tissues.  First, sign the organ donor statement on the back of your driver’s license while someone else watches you.  Second, check to see if your state has an organ donation registry (we have such a registry in New York) and sign up to ensure your wishes will be carried out.

Finally, and perhaps most important – discuss your wishes with your family.  Whether or not you can actually donate when the time comes can be decided by the professionals when it happens.  Understanding your wishes will allow your family to have the conversation.

We never know when tragedy will strike.  But we can honor those who have been lost by making the commitment to donate our own organs and tissues upon death.

Learn more about donating your organs, tissues or body so you, too, can give the gift of life.

Note: a reader has reminded me of another excellent gift:  Registering for the Bet the Match bone marrow registry, too.  Learn more.

Here are some additional resources for
end of life choices:

End of Life Decision-Making : The Ultimate in Patient Empowerment

Start an End of Life Wishes Conversation

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Healthy Travel Tips for the Holidays

This column first appeared
in the Syracuse Post Standard
November 22, 2011

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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

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