| |
As a patient, you have to shoulder a wide variety
of responsibilities,
some of which are as follows:
- You should provide your doctor with accurate
and complete information about your medical
history, past illnesses, allergies, hospitalizations
and medications.
- You should report changes in your condition
(however minor they may seem to you) to your
doctor - don't keep him in the dark!
- If you do not understand what your doctor
says or wants you to do, you should let him
know without any hesitation!
- You should strictly follow your doctor's treatment
plan.
- You should keep your appointments on schedule,
and if you cannot do so for any reason, let
your doctor know well in advance.
- You should pay your medical bills promptly!
- You should follow hospital rules and regulations
without fail.
- You should have realistic expectations of
what the doctor can do for you. Everyone would
like to get well completely, but one should
always bear in mind that the doctor is not a
miracle worker.
- You should help your doctor to help you! If
you cannot stick to a particular treatment plan,
let your doctor know, so that he can formulate
an alternative plan.
- You should maintain good health habits.
- You should participate actively in your medical
care. Patients who are highly motivated get
better faster: in other words, help your body
to heal itself!
- You should ask questions to clarify any doubts
or dispel any misconceptions in your mind. A
doctor or nurse may not know when you're confused,
uncertain or just want more information. Therefore,
do not refrain from asking questions.
- You should respect the doctors and the nurses.
The medical staff deserve your respect and courtesy:
treat them the way you would like to be treated
by them!
- You should not ask for false medical certificates
or padded medical bills (in order to get additional
reimbursement).
TOP
While you obviously have a vital interest in your
medical treatment, unfortunately, you lack the specialized
medical knowledge and skills to be able to take
decisions in this context alone. This is why the
concept of a team - which consists of you and your
doctor becomes very important. As a patient, your
responsibilities are wide and varied. And you'll
need to play several "roles" at various
times.
Medical Information Researcher
The more knowledgeable you are about your problem
and its treatment, the better are your chances of
getting the right treatment. Educate yourself: you
need to become an informed participant in your medical
care in order to ask the right questions and to
participate in making decisions about your treatment.
This step will also help you to critically assess
media reports about 'new breakthroughs in medical
treatment', and whether these 'breakthroughs' are
relevant to your problem or not.
Medical Team Manager
You will have to find, evaluate, select, hire -
and sometimes fire - members of your medical team.
As an enlightened patient, you need to remember
that you are the one in charge of your body ---
and that it's your medical team you are managing!
Treatment Decision Maker
You will have to decide which treatment to choose
among the alternatives. Sometimes the choices are
straightforward, but sometimes they can be very
confusing. A good doctor will offer you all the
options and help you to decide, but ultimately,
you have to exercise your right (and responsibility!)
to select a course of treatment. You cannot afford
to leave everything to god, or to the doctor either!
TOP
Medical Record Keeper
You must keep all your records safely, and this
can be very helpful especially if you have a complex
problem a chronic disease, or need to change doctors
or get a second opinion. File all your records in
reverse chronological order; and number all your
documents in sequences. Also prepare a one-page
summary sheet of your medical experiences. Software
packages are available nowadays, which help you
document all medical details very efficiently.
Financial Manager
Medical treatment, can be very expensive these days,
and you must make it a point to know the costs involved.
Many patients are hesitant to talk to their doctor
about money matters, but this reluctance can prove
to be very costly! Also, if you are claiming reimbursement
(either from an insurance company or from your employer)
you must make sure that you have complete records
of payments made along with their receipts.
Communicator
It is vitally important that you be open and honest
with your doctor. When in doubt, ask questions,
listen to the answers carefully and take notes.
A prudent measure would be to write down your questions
before your appointment, so that you do not forget
important matters during the stress of consultation.
Remember, the only stupid question is the one you
don't ask! So, to re-emphasize, don't hesitate to
ask questions! And if you don't understand the answers,
the fault is not all yours; it could be that your
doctor is not explaining the facts well!
There is no doubt that the one person who will look
after his own interests the best is the patient
himself. You need to do your homework thoroughly,
find out more about your problem , and then discuss
the results of your research with your doctor. This
is your right, and your responsibility as well!
Every honest doctor will agree that his patients
are his best teachers!
TOP
|
|
