Researching and Becoming an Expert
You must be actively involved in making decisions about your own
body.If you don’t understand the medical gobbledygook, the fault is not yours
--it’s the doctor’s
Even the
most complicated concept in medical science can be simplified enough for a
layman to understand it. It is your doctor’s responsibility to explain your
health problem and your treatment choices to you in simple terms. This will
help you to make an informed decision about your treatment and this is
important for obtaining patient-centered healthcare.
A good doctor must respect your intelligence, your desire to learn
about your medical condition and your ability to understand what procedures he
intends to carry out on you, so that you both can work together as a team in
order to find the best therapy available for you. If your doctor doesn’t have
the time or inclination to do so, or if your communication with your doctor is
like a one-way street, then this is a red flag that you need to find a new
doctor who is willing to actively engage you in your medical care. If this is
not possible, consider hiring a patient-advocate who will help you make sense
of your illness.
Medical
science rarely has straight forward solutions, and what works for one person
may not work for another. Every person is different, and everyone has different
preferences. There are very few cut-and-dried protocols in medicine which can
be universally applied to everyone. This means treatment of many diseases
demands a patient-tailored protocol, depending upon your individual
circumstances and wishes.
Good
doctors encourage your participation in your healthcare, so that you can make
an informed decision about what is right for you, according to your personal
circumstances, beliefs and priorities. For this to happen, you should also
strive to gain knowledge about your health problem. Being passive and dependent
upon your health care provider for all your treatment decisions will not help
you get the best medical care. You must do your own homework to find out what
your options are, so that you can make a well-informed decision, and select a
treatment protocol that you are comfortable with; which will improve your
quality of life and maximise your chances of a good outcome.
The
best-place to look for information is the internet, but not every site is
trustworthy. It’s a good place to start, although not a very good place to end
your search for the right information. It is important to double-check the
online information with your patient advocate, and consult reliable government
health web-sites because these are regularly updated with current information.
The US and the UK governments have been leaders in the field, and their sites (www.medlineplus.gov/ and www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/) are
very useful - please bookmark them. The Indian government has sadly been a
laggard in this field, but if you are looking for India specific information,
try the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (www.mohfw.nic.in/),
The Department of Health Research (www.dhr.gov.in/),
and The Indian Council of Medical Research (www.icmr.nic.in/).
When you
are in hospital, here is what you need to know about your medical records: Make
sure you have copies of all your medical records- they are legally your
property. You can give the doctor photocopies of your original reports for his
files but keep the originals with you. They are worth their weight in gold.
Also make sure that you understand what’s in your medical records- you must be
able to make sense of your doctor’s hieroglyphics,, so you can explain your
diagnosis and treatment to another doctor, if you need to take a second
opinion.
Read up
on your condition: Read as much as you can about your problem. A good doctor will arm
you with printed material to read at home.
Read up on the doctor: You have the right to know the
name of the doctor(s) treating you, their professional qualification, their
special interests and their respective track records. If this information is
inaccessible or not shared on the hospital website, you may need to dig deeper.
If you
think you are not receiving the information or the level of care that you are
entitled to, you can demand a transfer to another facility.
Additionally,
you have the right to be informed of the possible financial implications of a
proposed treatment plan at the time of admission. If there is a change in the
medical condition or treatment protocol, and your costs are likely to rise, you
should be told about this in advance and not be presented with an inflated bill
later. You can accept or refuse any part of your treatment, after being
informed of its risks, benefits and likely consequences.
Remember that you are always free to seek discharge against
medical advice, if your dissatisfaction with the doctor or the hospital is
extreme. You may be asked to sign a ’Discharge against Medical Advice (AMA)’
form, but you can’t be forced to stay in the hospital against your wishes - and
if the hospital tries to do this (for example, by insisting that you have to
clear all your hospital bills before they will let you leave), they are
committing a criminal offense).
The above is an extract from Dr.Aniruddha Malpani's book : Patient Advocacy - Giving Voice to Patients
The book launch will take place on Saturday, 16 November 2013 at Hall of Harmony, Nehru Center, Worl, Mumbai - 400018 during the 4th Annual Putting Patients First Conference.
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