20 Things You Need to Know

Get more from your medical care by learning how to…

Be better-informed and get more from your medical care
Ask the right questions about diagnosis, treatment options, medications, whether surgery is necessary, finding the right doctor, home care and much more
Advocate for needed medical attention and resources
Avoid problems when a new medicine is prescribed by asking our key questions
Make sure all medicines are being taken properly
Seek a second opinion – when it’s a good idea and how to find one
Protect yourself from medical errors, such as misdiagnosis or taking the wrong medicine
Keep all your information organized and available
Have the information you need at your fingertips, when you need it
Keep track of your medical history
Take notes during medical appointments so key points are neither forgotten nor misremembered later
Get the help you need from medical social workers and other resources
Make sense of your bills, avoid duplicate billing, and handle your insurance issues
Understand your options better to make the best decisions about treatment
Make your time at medical appointments more informative and less stressful
Help with caregiving from a distance
Know your rights as a patient
Be sure you have the necessary legal documents prepared
Plan for a hospital discharge based on your needs
Balance the rest of your life – get help with meals and rides; stay connected to friends and family; and avoid caregiver burnout

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Roberta’s Blog
New Site for Finding Clinical Trials
April 11, 2013
It can be very overwhelming to deal with a serious illness. As you are researching potential treatments, you can find an endless amount of information on-line. It can be stressful to figure out what clinical trials are are underway at facilities throughout the U.S. and the world. Now there is a My Clinical Trial Locator – a free, easy to use site to search for information on clinical trials. You can search: For information on clinical trials, clinical research and observational studies in the U.S. and world – even those that are not open to new patients – learn: eligibility guidelines contact information Search by disease, condition, or location Find information on many types of clinical trials, including: drugs and medications medical devices medical procedures and interventions lifestyle/behavioral studies, such as those evaluating diet and exercise Visit www.MyClinicalTrialLocator.com for plenty more »

Category: Understanding Your Diagnosis and Treatment Options
Doctors Missing Test Result Alerts Due to Overload
March 22, 2013
It is common to assume that “no news is good news” when it comes to medical test results. Don’t count on it! A study published March 4, 2013 in JAMA Internal Medicine found that some doctors are so overloaded with abnormal test result alerts, that they sometimes overlook important alerts. This is clearly a major health issue. The study was conducted at the VA Medical Center in Houston, and involved a survey of 2,590 primary care practitioners. A summary of the findings: Median number of alerts was 63 per day/per doctor. 86.9% of the doctors felt this was an “excessive” number of alerts. 69.6% stated that they felt they were receiving more alerts than they could effectively manage. 29.8% reported that they had personally missed abnormal test result alerts that led to delays in patient care. What can you more »

Category: Communicating with Your Healthcare Team
Medication Errors Common at Hospital Discharge
January 30, 2013
When you (or a loved one) are being discharged from the hospital, there is a lot to keep track of, including medications, home care needs, follow up appointments, etc. Unfortunately, there is frequent misunderstanding regarding which medications to take and how to take them. A recent study led by Dr. Leora Horwitz at Yale-New Haven Hospital reviewed 377 patients (age 64+) who had been admitted with heart failure, acute coronary symptoms or pneumonia, who then were discharged to home. Findings: 81% experienced a medication error due to provider error, or because the patient had no understanding of at least one intended medication change. 24% of the medication errors were due to provider error. 60% did not understand at least one of their medication changes (a new or altered prescription, or a discontinuation of a medication, based on their recent hospitalization). more »

Category: Hospital Issues, Medications
Surgical ‘Never Events’ Occur More Than You Would Think
January 17, 2013
It’s every patient’s worst nightmare – a surgeon makes a mistake, a big mistake. The wrong operation is preformed. Something is left inside. The wrong body part is operated on. Think it rarely happens? Not so. A recent study led by Dr. Marty Makary at Johns Hopkins (published in Surgery) estimates that these so-called “never events” occurred in U.S. hospitals over 80,000 times in 20 years (1990-2010). They actually believe their estimates might be low. What did they find? The researchers found that surgeons, as a group, in the United States: Leave a foreign object (sponge, etc) inside a patient’s body 39 times/week Perform the wrong procedure 20 times/week Operate on the wrong body part 20 times/week Luckily, the affects of these mistakes are generally not fatal. However, they did find that: Death occurred in 6.6% of the cases Permanent more »

Category: Hospital Issues, Medical Errors
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