Take Charge of Your Health Care

78 Take Charge of Your Health Care Talking with the Doctor 4/26/2013 11:07:42 AM http://www.healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/glmedia/icons/takechargeofyourhealthcare.jpg smiling doctor http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/Category/doctor-visits/talking-with-the-doctor/take-charge-of-your-health-care Get Screened http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/Category/doctor-visits/screening-tests/get-screened topic Choosing a Doctor: Quick tips http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/Category/doctor-visits/regular-check-ups/choosing-a-doctor-quick-tips tool Use Medicines Safely http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/Category/everyday-healthy-living/safety/use-medicines-safely topic Get Support if You Are a Caregiver http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/Category/everyday-healthy-living/mental-health-and-relationship/get-support-if-you-are-a-caregiver topic

The Basics Speak up and ask questions at the doctor’s office to get better care for you and your family. Speak up and ask questions at the doctor’s office. When you play an active role in your health care, you can improve the quality of the care you and your family get.Most people depend on different doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and insurance programs for their health care. It’s a team effort, and you are the most important member of the team.To take charge of your health care:<ul ><li>Keep track of important health information.</li><li>Know your family health history.</li><li>See a doctor regularly for checkups.</li><li>Be prepared for medical appointments.</li><li>Ask your doctor or nurse questions.</li></ul><a href="http://www.healthcare.gov/compare/index.html" >Use this guide to help you choose quality health care</a>.

Take Action! Keep track of your important health information. Start by writing down the names of the medicines you take. Follow these steps to play an active role in your health care.Keep track of important health information. Keep all your health information in one place to make it easier to manage your health care. Take the information with you to every medical appointment.To start your own personal health record, write down:<ul ><li>Your name, birth date, and blood type</li><li>The name and phone number of a friend or relative to call if there’s an emergency</li><li>Telephone numbers and addresses of places where you get medical care, including your pharmacy</li><li>Dates and results of checkups and screening tests</li><li>List of shots (and the dates you got them)</li><li>Medicines you take, how much you take, and why you take them</li><li>Any health conditions you have, including allergies</li></ul>If you aren’t sure about some of this information, check with your doctor’s office.Know your family health history. The health history of your family is also an important part of your personal health record. <a href="https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/fhh-web/home.action" >Use this family health history tool</a> to keep track of conditions that run in your family.See a doctor regularly for checkups. Your doctor or nurse can help you stay healthy. If you don’t have a doctor or nurse, <a href="http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/ViewTool.aspx?toolId=63">check out these tips on choosing a doctor you can trust.</a>Regular checkups can help the doctor or nurse find problems early, when they may be easier to treat.</a><ul ><li><a href="http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics//myHealthfinder/">Use the myhealthfinder tool to get personal health recommendations based on your age and sex</a>.</li><li><a href="http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/ViewTopic.aspx?topicId=58">Get information about shots to help you stay healthy</a>.</li><li><a href="http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/ViewTopic.aspx?topicId=20">Protect your health by getting recommended screenings</a>. Check out these fact sheets for more information:<ul><li><a href="http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthymen.htm" >Men: Stay Healthy at Any Age</a></li><li><a href="http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/healthywom.htm" >Women: Stay Healthy at Any Age</a></li></ul></li></ul>What about cost? The <a href="http://www.healthcare.gov/law/features/rights/preventive-care/index.html" >Affordable Care Act</a>, the health care reform law passed in 2010, covers many preventive services, like screenings and shots. It also covers well-child visits through age 21 and well-woman visits. Depending on your insurance plan, you may be able to get preventive services at no cost to you. Check with your insurance provider for more information.<ul ><li><a href="http://www.healthcare.gov/news/factsheets/2010/07/preventive-services-list.html" >Find out which services are covered by the Affordable Care Act</a>.</li><li><a href="http://www.medicare.gov/coverage/preventive-and-screening-services.html" >Find out which services are covered under Medicare</a>.</li><li><a href="http://www.healthcare.gov/using-insurance/low-cost-care/medicaid/#cover" >Find out which services are covered under Medicaid</a>.</li></ul>If you don’t have insurance, check out these resources to help you get health care:<ul ><li><a href="http://finder.healthcare.gov/" >Use this tool to find insurance options for your family</a>.</li><li>For low-cost or free services, <a href="http://findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov/Search_HCC.aspx" >find a health center near you</a> and make an appointment.</li></ul>Write down your questions ahead of time. Write down any questions you have about your health and take the list with you to your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. <a href="http://www.ahrq.gov/legacy/questions/qb/" >Use this tool to build your list of questions</a>.Make the most of doctor visits. Take your list of questions and personal health record with you to the appointment. You may also want to take a family member or friend to help take notes.Be sure to talk about any changes since your last visit, like:<ul ><li>New medicines you are taking, including over-the-counter medicines, herbs or home remedies, and vitamins</li><li>Recent illnesses or surgeries</li><li>Any important changes in your life, like becoming unemployed or a death in the family</li><li>Health concerns or issues</li><li>Health information you’ve found on the Internet or heard from others</li></ul>Follow up after your appointment. It can take time to make the healthy changes you talked about with your doctor or nurse. Remember to:<ul ><li>Call if you have any questions or side effects from medicine.</li><li>Schedule follow-up appointments for tests or lab work, if you need to.</li></ul>

Start Today: Small Steps <ul><li><a href="http://healthfinder.gov/myhealthfinder/">Use the myhealthfinder tool</a> to get health recommendations based on your age and sex.</li><li><a href="http://www.ahrq.gov/patients-consumers/care-planning/errors/5steps/5steps.pdf">Know the 5 steps to safer health care [PDF - 365 KB]</a>.</li><li><a href="http://www.healthcare.gov/using-insurance/low-cost-care/childrens-insurance-program/index.html">Find out about a health plan for kids whose families can’t afford health insurance</a>.</li></ul>

The Basics You can help protect yourself from infections when you get medical care. This is especially important when you get a medical procedure, like surgery or dialysis. You can help protect yourself from infections when you get medical care. This is especially important when you get a medical procedure, like surgery or dialysis.Take these steps to help prevent infections when you have a medical procedure:<ul ><li>Talk with your doctor or nurse about infections before your procedure.</li><li>Make sure your doctors, nurses, and visitors always wash their hands.</li><li>Carefully follow the instructions for preventing infections after your procedure.</li></ul>How do medical procedures put people at risk for infections? Germs can spread from one patient to another or from doctors to patients. You are at greater risk from germs that can cause infections if you have:<ul ><li>An open wound (cut) after surgery</li><li>An IV (intravenous) tube</li><li>A catheter (tube in your vein or bladder)</li></ul>The good news is that patients and doctors can work together to prevent the spread of germs and the infections they cause.<a href="http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/patientSafety/patient-safety.html" >Learn more about preventing infections at the hospital</a>.What types of infections can people get from medical procedures? Infections people get from a visit to the hospital, health clinic, or doctor’s office are called healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).These infections can lead to sickness and even death. Blood infections and urinary tract infections from catheters are examples of HAIs.Get tips on preventing these types of infections:<ul ><li><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/hai/pdfs/uti/CA-UTI_tagged.pdf" >Urinary tract infections [PDF - 231 KB]</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/vap/VAP_tagged.pdf" >Pneumonia [PDF - 187 KB]</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/hai/pdfs/bsi/BSI_tagged.pdf" >Blood infections [PDF - 195 KB]</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/pdf/SHEA-mrsa_tagged.pdf" >MRSA (“MER-suh”) infections [PDF - 221 KB]</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/ssi/SSI_tagged.pdf" >Surgical site infections [PDF - 213 KB]</a></li><li><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/HAI/pdfs/cdiff/Cdiff_tagged.pdf" >C. diff (Clostridium difficile) infections [PDF - 183 KB]</a></li></ul>How will I know if I have an infection? Common signs that you may have an infection include:<ul ><li>Fever</li><li>Burning or pain below the stomach (the lower abdomen) </li><li>Burning when peeing (urinating) or having to pee more often than usual</li><li>Redness or pain around a catheter (tube in your vein or bladder) or wound (cut)</li><li>Pus or other liquid coming from the skin </li><li>Diarrhea (watery bowels)</li></ul>

Take Action! Talk with your doctor about infections before getting a medical procedure. You and your doctor or nurse can work together to prevent infections by following these steps.Talk with the doctor about infections before a procedure. Before getting a medical procedure, talk to the doctor or nurse about:<ul ><li>Any medical problems you have, like diabetes </li><li>What will be done to help prevent an infection, like cleaning the skin with bacteria-killing soap</li><li>What you can do to help protect yourself from an infection</li></ul>Start the conversation by saying, “I know how easy it is for people to get infections. I don’t want it to happen to me.” If you are having any type of surgery, <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/features/safesurgery" >plan to protect yourself from infection</a>.Always make sure your doctors and nurses clean their hands. Ask your doctors and nurses if their hands are clean. This is one of the most important ways to prevent infections. Even if they wear gloves, they still need to wash their hands. Wearing gloves alone is not enough to prevent infections.If you feel uncomfortable asking the doctors or nurses if their hands are clean, remember that it’s their job to help keep you safe and healthy. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/PDF/CDC_HandHygiene_Brochure.pdf" >Check out this patient’s guide to hand hygiene [PDF - 2 MB]</a>.Ask your visitors to clean their hands, too. Make sure your family members and friends wash their hands when they visit you. And if a loved one isn’t feeling well, ask her to call you instead of visiting in person.Speak up if something doesn’t seem right. Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions before or after your procedure. For example, if your bandages aren’t clean, dry, or attached well, point this out to the doctor or nurse right away.If you get home and start to feel sick or notice signs of an infection, call your doctor or nurse right away.Take steps to prevent infections after a procedure.<ul ><li>Wash your hands often, especially after you’ve had surgery. Be sure to wash your hands with soap and water after using the bathroom and before eating.</li><li>Make sure to wash your hands before touching a wound (cut) or catheter (tube in your vein or bladder).</li><li>Follow the instructions you are given for what to do after the procedure. For example, you might need to follow steps to keep a catheter clean.</li><li>If you have a catheter, have it removed as soon as you no longer need it.</li></ul><a href="http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/ViewTopic.aspx?topicId=69">Use medicines safely</a>. You may have antibiotics or other medicines you need to take after the procedure. Follow the instructions on when, how often, and how long you need to take your medicines.Keep taking prescription medicines until your doctor tells you it’s okay to stop, even if you are feeling better.<a href="http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/ViewTopic.aspx?topicId=24">Quit smoking</a>. People who smoke get more infections. If you smoke, call 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) to make your quit plan.<a href="http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/ViewTopic.aspx?topicId=58">Get important shots</a>. Ask your doctor about shots (vaccines) to protect you from infections.<a href="http://healthfinder.gov/HealthTopics/ViewTopic.aspx?topicId=18">Protect yourself from seasonal flu</a>. Everyone age 6 months and older needs to get a flu shot every year.

Start Today: Small Steps <ul><li>Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with a bandage until they are healed.</li><li><a href="http://www2c.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp?f=9467" >Listen to this podcast about keeping your hands clean at the hospital</a>.</li><li>Stay away from people who are sick.</li></ul>