{"id":19,"date":"2009-10-21T12:15:10","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T17:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/96.30.24.48\/~ctcps\/?p=19"},"modified":"2013-01-22T18:12:49","modified_gmt":"2013-01-22T18:12:49","slug":"tips-for-the-patient","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/?p=19","title":{"rendered":"Tips for the Patient"},"content":{"rendered":"

Create a medical notebook \u2013 include:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Doctors\u2019 names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses<\/li>\n
  2. Medications the patient takes and dosages and why he\/she takes those medications \u2013 actual times of day patient takes the medications, and when they were first prescribed<\/li>\n
  3. Pharmacist\u2019s name, address, phone number<\/li>\n
  4. Ongoing diary of every visit to a doctor, dentist, lab \u2013 including: questions asked, answers to those questions and \u00a0instructions for the patient (click here so a sample patient fact sheet you can use to keep track of this information)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    In the doctor\u2019s office:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Take your notebook and write down date of visit and your questions<\/li>\n
    2. Review prescriptions, making sure you can read the handwriting<\/li>\n
    3. Ask for the generic name and dosage, time of day and how long to take this medication<\/li>\n
    4. Find out side effects and what you should do if you experience one<\/li>\n
    5. Find out when you can expect lab results<\/li>\n
    6. Find out what follow up to the visit is your responsibility and what are the doctor\u2019s responsibilities.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      For the hospital: Go to hospitalcompare.hhs.gov<\/a> to check on hospital safety ratings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Bring your notebook <\/strong><\/li>\n
      2. Find out how long you will be in the hospital <\/strong><\/li>\n
      3. While there, write in this notebook the names of all physicians, consultants and nurses whom you see \u2013 what time you saw them \u2013 what they said <\/strong><\/li>\n
      4. Make sure everyone who touches you has washed his hands<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Your rights as a patient:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Hospitals have patient\u2019s rights documents \u2013 make sure you read them<\/li>\n
        2. A doctor and hospital must receive a patient\u2019s informed consent before a surgery or a procedure is performed \u2013 do not simply sign \u2013 ask for an explanation of your treatment<\/li>\n
        3. Find out recommended procedures and the risks and benefits<\/li>\n
        4. Find out alternatives to the recommended procedure and the risks and benefits<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Discharge:<\/strong><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Make sure to find out what treatment you received \u2013 medications <\/strong>you need to continue and schedule of those medications \u2013 when to follow up with the doctor<\/li>\n
          2. Your medication may have changed while hospitalized.\u00a0 Make sure you know if you should continue with the ones you took before you were hospitalized or if those medications have been changed<\/li>\n
          3. Do not leave without your discharge order and a clear idea of what your expectations should be of your recovery.\u00a0 Ask about follow up care and whether you will need a visiting nurse or physical therapy.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

            Second opinion:\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

            Diagnostic errors can often be detected by a fresh set of eyes.\u00a0 Second opinions offer a way to substantially decrease the risk of diagnostic error.\u00a0 But here are a few things to think about if the patient is considering getting a second opinion:<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. \u00a0Financial costs are involved in obtaining a second opinion<\/li>\n
            2. There is the possibility of extra testing and extra stress if opinions differ about the patient\u2019s condition<\/li>\n
            3. A second opinion may not be necessary for non-critical conditions, but should be considered if a patient is faced with a major illness or a critical decision<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              \u00a0<\/p>\n

              The health care industry is currently under lots of different pressures.\u00a0 Please remember to thank those individuals who deliver the health care that is correct, courteous and includes you in your treatment and recovery.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Create a medical notebook, tips for your trip to the doctor’s office, advice for your hospital stay and your rights as a patient<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to-for-patients"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1406,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions\/1406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ctcps.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}