Posts Tagged ‘health care’
Owning Your Patient Power by Learning the Health Care Debate Lingo
August 18th, 2009 | 
Author: As a chiropractor I know that there are many people looking for good, afforable health care, and healthy alternatives to what is now available to them in such limited quantity and quality. I treat many people who have no health insurance or are struggling to pay for medical insurance that not only doesn’t cover chiropractic care, but doesn’t cover other medical needs. And, I don’t have to tell you that these days, there’s a whole lot of shouting about health care going on. I don’t think that it’s too optimistic for us to hope that beneath and beyond the cacophony of conflicting opinions and misinformation, patients will find themselves more powerful than ever in determining what kinds of preventative health alternatives are available to them, the type of universal care that they will be able to get should they require it, and the variety, affordability, fairness, and efficacy of that care.
As an aid to “owning” your patient power, I am passing along a seemingly “neutral” article that I just read that I think you will find as helpful as I did, especially if you are confused by all the back and forth on health care reform. It is a guideline to terms that are commonly tossed about in the health care debate. If you have been wondering what any or all of the following terms mean, I invite you to check out the site at the bottom of this post: Blue Dog coalition, Co-op, Electronic records, End-of-life counseling, Gang of Six, health insurance exchange, Health care rescission, House Energy and Commerce Committee, Mandated coverage, Medicare/Medicaid, “Obamacare,” Private insurance, Public options, Senate HELP committee, Single-payer.
Naturally, knowing what these terms mean doesn’t actually solve the problem. But, it may help us with the dialogue, should the sound decibels decrease to a point where the human voice is actually intelligible.
The Empowered Patient: Making the Health Care System Navigable
Great article with tips for patients below. As a San Diego Chiropractor I feel it is important for patients to learn how to navigate the current healthcare system as it leaves much to be deisred. Good luck Ms. Boden and Dr. Hallisy.
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by Victoria Colliver, Chronicle Staff Writer
Adriana Boden was a healthy 33-year-old woman until one day in March 2007 when she felt like an explosion went off in her head. Although she went to her doctor immediately, it would take nearly a year of doctor visits, diagnoses of everything from migraine headaches to encephalitis, unnecessary drugs and treatments before a physician finally figured out what was wrong with her.
It was a relatively simple test – one that Boden, through her own research, suggested and was eventually ordered by a physician who listened to her – that led to her diagnosis of epilepsy.
Boden, a sales manager at Google Inc. in Mountain View, wants to take what she’s learned and use her technological know-how to help other patients better navigate the fragmented health care system.
Along with San Francisco dentist and author Julia Hallisy, she founded a nonprofit organization and Web site called the Empowered Healthcare Community, which will officially premiere at a conference in San Francisco on May 16.
Many Americans – even those with insurance and access to care – are frustrated by the U.S. health care delivery system.
Boden said there were many things she wished she had known at the onset of her illness that could have helped or shortened her search for a diagnosis and cure.
She formed the organization in part because most of the patient advocacy and networking groups she found were specific to certain diseases or didn’t offer her the kind of help she needed.
“I want to give people confidence and help them find the courage to help themselves,” she said.
Hallisy, the group’s co-founder, spent virtually her daughter’s entire life – from the time she was diagnosed with cancer at five months until her death in 2000 at age 10 – pursuing the treatment her daughter needed.
Hallisy last year published “The Empowered Patient” to give patients practical tips about their rights and safety issues.
“Our goal for the organization is to give patients an unprecedented level of information they don’t have access to,” she said.
Boden’s physician, Palo Alto internist Darren Phelan, said patients and doctors need to work together now more than ever due to the information age.
Doctors, he said, have a tendency to get stuck in the patterns they know.
“You can search on the Internet and find a study that will support or refute a lot of things,” he said.
The conference is open to the public and registration is $80.
Have a health advocate.
No news is not necessarily good news.
A second – or third or fourth – opinion is appropriate at any time during your treatment, not just in the early stages of diagnosis.
Be aware that federal law guarantees patients access to their medical records.
Always check your medications for drug interactions.
If you need surgery, find out information about your hospital at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services site at hospitalcompare.hhs.gov.
If you are having surgery, ask your hospital to use the World Health Organization surgical checklist.
Posted in patient advocacy | 
Tags: health, health care, patient advocacy, patient rights | 
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Health Care, Treating Patients, Feelings Can Get in The Way!
Post from Healthcare300.wordpress.com
As health care providers we are always taught to not let our emotions regarding any particular subject interfere with our ability to treat a patient. Easy enough concept perhaps, but actually following through with that thought is sometime difficult. What happens when a health care provider, a nurse or a doctor lets their feelings about a patient or patient’s actions drive their care decisions? Well, typically it plays out against the patient’s best interest.
Patients that present to local emergency departments that are suspected of drug seeking are often ignored by providers in hopes that they will become so frustrated with waiting that they will just leave the ER. Other times care will be purposely delayed for patients that are rude, “whiny”, or in some other way annoying. Providers will often minimize a patient’s level of pain and health and not offer analgesics even though they are told by the patient that they hurt. This is often seen when patients come in to an ER setting in a histrionic state.
Letting value judgments about patients or patient’s actions drive care decisions in most cases would be considered counterproductive. Health care providers must continually evaluate their own biases and look beyond the realm of their own perspectives and focus on treating the patient appropriately. Frequently the only way to combat this prejudice is to have a patient advocate. Family members are often advocating for their loved ones with health care providers. In several other instances nurses play a huge part in patient advocacy. The issue here is that providers are not always in tune with the needs of their patients. Call it being human, call it something else. The fact remains that whether or not providers have biases toward patients should be irrelevant when it comes to making care decisions.