Tag Archives: Before You Get Sick

Posted on

Your Medical Life List: Part 1 VIDEO

The first rule of being your own medical record keeper is to put your documents together before you need them.

When you’re sick or have a family member who needs immediate medical attention, you rarely have the time or the resources to gather health information. So, it’s important that, before an emergency, you have a Medical Life List on hand for you and for each of your loved ones. In a nutshell, your Medical Life List is your own personal medical record created by you and updated by you. In this video, Lori-Ann Rickard provides you with a handy guide to get you started.

♦◊♦

Want to avoid unnecessary grief and expense when you get sick? Then you need this essential guide to the business behind your healthcare decisions. MyHealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Before You Get Sick” ebook guide gives you all of the practical advice you need to take charge of your healthcare options!

HS-B4-You-Get-Sick

Available for download NOW!

Posted on

Skip the Emergency Room Line

Doctor and Patient

Need to go into the hospital, but your problem isn’t life threatening?  Instead of sitting for hours in the emergency room, work with your doctor to be directly admitted.

Many patients don’t know they can bypass the emergency room and be directly admitted to the hospital.  Most people use the ER as the entry point for a stay at the hospital.  Some are in a truly life-threatening situation where minutes count so they’re in the right place. But many have an ongoing condition, such as congestive heart failure or diabetes, that sometimes requires them to spend time in the hospital.  In those cases, hospitals may allow their doctors to directly admit patients to a hospital room, saving everyone time and money.

The emergency room is designed for emergencies.  The ER quickly evaluates (triages) every patient to determine how fast he or she needs care.  If you have an ongoing problem that isn’t life threatening, you will generally wait a long time to get any further attention.  This can be very frustrating for patients who know they’ll be admitted but must wait for the ER staff to first treat real emergencies (gunshot wounds, heart attacks, etc).  It will often take them a long time to get  a doctor on staff at the hospital to see you.  If it’s after hours or on the weekend, the hospital doctor will often know nothing about your history.  So, he or she may then run a bunch of tests to figure out what your problem is. But, if you talk to your primary care doctor or specialist  in advance, you may be able to avoid this hassle.

If you have a doctor who regularly sees you for your healthcare needs, it’s much better to have that doctor determine what you need and when you should be hospitalized since they know your medical history.

The way to avoid wasting time in the emergency room is to talk to your doctor ahead of time.

You should ask your doctor:

  1. What hospital your doctor goes to.
  2. Does that hospital have a direct admit policy.
  3. If your doctor thinks you should be in the hospital, ask if he or she will write an order to have you directly admitted to a room.
  4. Find out what days of the week and times of day the hospital accepts direct admissions.

Having this discussion with your doctor in advance will save you the time and expense of having to sit in the emergency room for hours when you know you need to be admitted to the hospital.

 

Posted on

Going to an Urgent Care Facility – Think Again!

Urgent Care BuildingMany people are now using urgent care facilities instead of a primary care doctor.  If you’re one of them, think again.

Urgent care facilities seem to be popping up on every corner, and they can look like the perfect solution to a healthcare problem.  Urgent care centers are open after hours and on weekends.  For some, it could be cheaper and faster to go to an urgent care rather than an emergency room.  And people with high insurance deductibles believe it’s less expensive to go to an urgent care.  So, why not take advantage of these conveniences?

First, none of the healthcare providers at the urgent care facility will know you or your loved one.  The urgent care facility will not have your health history nor your family history.  The purpose of urgent care is to treat a problem quickly and get you “in and out.”  It is similar to a drive-thru fast food restaurant.  When you want great, healthy food prepared by a talented chef, do you go to the drive-thru for something that was made in 3 minutes?  No.  Isn’t your healthcare more important than picking up a quick burger to eat on the run?

When handling your healthcare, you need a physician who knows you and your family’s health history.  A new doctor can always ask you questions and write down the answers;  however, if they are unlikely to ever see you again, are they going to take the time necessary to really assess what’s going on?  Your healthcare needs are often complex.  For example, you need to be careful about drug interactions so just getting a quick prescription isn’t always a good answer.  An urgent care center is set up for the quick fix, not complex problems.

Moonlighting staff. Additionally, many urgent care facilities are staffed by doctors who are moonlighting from their day jobs.  They might be very qualified; however, working at the urgent care is rarely their primary job.  Many times after a visit to urgent care, you don’t get better or you have questions the next day.  It’s very unlikely that you will be able to call the urgent care facility and talk to the doctor who saw you since he or she has returned to their day job.

Most people want great healthcare.  When you are sick is not the time to start with a doctor who does not know you.  Take charge of your healthcare:

  1. Find a primary care doctor.
  2. Know when your doctor’s office is open.   Don’t wait until 7 p.m. on Friday evening to decide you need to see a doctor.
  3. Know when your doctor’s office has Saturday or late night hours.
  4. Ask your doctor if he or she is affiliated with an “after hours” clinic that will have access to your or your loved ones’ medical records, if you must go to the doctor when your primary doctor’s office is closed.
  5. Plan ahead when possible.  If you are feeling badly on Monday, call the doctor’s office before the office is closed for the weekend.

And most of all, establish a good relationship with a primary care doctor. It’s the best place to start to take charge of your healthcare.

♦◊♦

HS-B4-You-Get-SickWant to avoid unnecessary grief and expense when you get sick? Then you need this essential guide to the business behind your healthcare decisions. MyHealthSpin’s “Easy Healthcare: Before You Get Sick” ebook guide gives you all of the practical advice you need to take charge of your healthcare options!

Available for download NOW!