When I talk about being a take-charge patient, inevitably someone will incorrectly assume that I mean usurping a medical provider’s expertise by taking over the medical encounter.
That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Taking charge of your healthcare means taking charge of you as a patient. By taking some responsibility for your part and meeting your medical provider half way, you resist the temptation to be a passive patient and simply go along for the ride. A take-charge patient empowers her/himself with information that affects her/his body, mind and well-being. You wouldn’t go to a car mechanic and blindly hand over your car. You’d bring in information about what is wrong, ask the mechanic what he/she planned to do to fix it, how much it would cost and when it would be ready. You can use a similar strategy with your doctor and other medical providers.
Why?
Two reasons:
- Increased quality of care, increased patient safety, and increased patient satisfaction. This means you! If you participate in your medical care by becoming informed about your disease or condition, about your medications, proposed diagnoses and treatment plans, you will be happier with your care, there will be fewer medical errors and the care you received will be better quality. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Publications/In-the-Literature/2012/Mar/International-Perspectives-on-Patient-Engagement.aspx
- Increased patient confidence and empowerment. By being invested in your healthcare, asking questions, being prepared for medical appointments, doing a little investigation on a doctor you see, on tests, procedures or surgeries, you become a more informed patient—that translates to a more empowered one. You’ll feel less anxious in the face of a medical provider, and about your illness/condition. Familiarity breeds confidence!
You don’t have to have a serious illness or medical condition to take-charge of your medical care. You can be an advocate for yourself just as you would for your children. And being an advocate for your kids takes some effort and investment to make sure pediatricians offer correct diagnoses and treatment plans.
It’s time to do the same for you. Regardless of the changes with HealthCare Reform (Affordable Care Act), we all must be proactive, take-charge patients. See changes in HealthCare Reform
And if you think that electronic health records, encouraged by Healthcare Reform, are going to erase the need for you to be involved, think again. Electronic health records are great when used in a closed system such as Kaiser Permanente or Cleveland Clinic. The rest of doctors, hospitals and clinics, don’t have ways to talk electronically to one another with the exception of phone, email, Google Docs and other apps. There’s a missing link in electronic health records—the means for medical providers to communicate with one another outside of a closed system.
How to start:
- Obtain copies of important medical records from your medical providers. You may have to fax a letter or pay a small fee. Put copies in your health file at home. This way you can withdraw a piece of information when you need it, or when a doctor needs it, instead of waiting for medical offices to send your information which probably won’t come in a timely manner.
- Create a list of your current medications and their dosages, over-the-counter medications, herbs, supplements, and allergies to medications.
- Create a list of questions and your top three medical concerns before each appointment with your doctor or nurse. It’s okay to ask questions of your doctors—that’s how you learn.
- Ask your medical provider about the risks and benefits to any procedure, test, treatment or surgery.
- Research your diagnosis and proposed treatment plan before you simply agree to it, unless moving quickly is a medical necessity. Credible websites end in .edu, .org and .gov. Here is a list of credible resources on my website.
- Evaluate your relationship with your doctor as that relationship is the cornerstone of quality medical care. Do you feel listened to and heard? Do you and the doctor communicate well? Do you respect one another? Are you comfortable asking questions? Do you have a personal connection? Does he/she welcome your participation?
- Get an advocate to accompany you to medical appointments if you are at any time confused, overwhelmed or uncertain about what your medical provider is telling you.
- Get a second opinion. If ever you are unsure about a medical provider’s diagnosis or treatment plan, or simply if you want to make sure it’s the correct one for you, get another opinion from a different medical provider, specifically one who is not connected to your current medical provider’s practice.
- Create a Medical ID card. There are plenty of phone apps for that but consider creating a hard copy to fit into a slot next to your driver’s license in your wallet. You never know when your phone will run out of battery or when a medical provider won’t know where to find that app if there’s an emergency. Here’s a link for a Medical ID card
It’s not about taking over. It’s about taking charge of you as a patient.
For more information on how to be a take-charge patient, visit www.thetakechargepatient.com
Mardy Ross
Martine, you bring up a lot of really good points here, and I encourage people who are wanting to take charge of their health to read it thoroughly, put thought into it, and then ‘take action’ appropriately. There is a big transition to getting things into the EMR systems, and it will literally take a generation to complete the transition; we’re likely about at the midway point now, which is always the most ‘dicey’, historically, with any transition.
I’d further what you bring to the table here about keeping their pertinent information with them, by suggesting people also keep resources with them at their medical visits that could serve as reference materials to help educate the providers. I view the provider/consumer relationship as a 360 degree give and take, where each learns from the other, and each teaches the other, in varying degrees. Or if you find a provider seeming to have a gap in their knowledge, which is understandable in these days of explosive information, follow up with the resource.
This type of strategy might not fit for everyone, which is fine — some providers want patients who do well being dictated to, and some patients want someone to dictate to them. Others, increasingly, want to have a more progressive approach, and there are increasing providers coming up through the ranks who want this type of patient coming to them.
This takes some practice, more than likely, for both parties involved, as it’s ‘new learning’ to most of us. And sometimes you’ll see that it’s not “a fit” and you’ll ultimately undergo a transfer to different providers or consumers. It’s part of the process these days.
And if there’s more that you think could be of benefit to something in your wallet about your medical condition, consider keeping short/easy to read resources in your glove box, realizing that people might end up reading them in other circumstances and weighing the situations. Many people have medical conditions or medications for medical conditions which affect how they appear on a roadside test if they were to be tested. It can save everyone time and frustration by the person driving being prepared, just as when they go to a medical appointment.
Again, great information, Martine, thank you for establishing the platform to add my additional comments. I look forward to what others might add, as well. ~~ Mardy
Martine
Mardy,
Thank you for your comment. Agreed about the length of time EHR/EMR will be smoothed out, if not longer. Great suggestions. Thanks! Martine
bethboynton
Martine, your message seems vital to the evolution of healthcare itself! From an overly dependent and passive role of patients to an actively engaged, participatory, and responsible role. And for those of us in healthcare, we have to learn to let go and empower. Thank you,
Beth Boynton, RN, MS
Martine
Beth, thank you for your comment. I love what you wrote. Thank you. Martine
Steve
Great information Martine. I teach a course in patient advocacy and I posted the link to your article for students. Nicely done. thanks
Martine
Steve,
Thank you very much for your kind comments. Glad you found the info helpful for your students.
Sarah Mueller
Take Charge Patient is the very best book!! It really helped me when my daughter had scoliosis surgery September 2012. Thank you so very much. Keep up the great work!!
Martine
Sarah,
Thank you for your kind words and comments. I’m so glad my book helped you with your daughter. That makes my day!
Martine