Ten Things to Know About Healthcare

You love your parents, right? Your children? Your spouse? Yourself? You want them to be taken care of if they get sick, or crippled or old.

Well, here’s ten things you ought to know about health care before things go bad, or before things get worse.

You are your own best advocate. Not your doctor. Not the nurse that comes in your room. Not the guy with the mop. You.
Tell your doctor everything, even the stuff that makes you blush. Tell him what medicine you are already taking. Be honest about your medical history.
Ask questions. Listen and ask more. Do not be afraid to insist that your medical care providers take time to treat you. If you are not happy, find a new doctor or hospital or pharmacy. You’re the customer.

It is up to you to keep track of your medications, what they’re for, when you take them and what side effects they might have. Start by asking the doctor. Then talk to the pharmacist at the drug store. Not the checkout girl, the pharmacist.
Your meds will be searchable through Google or Yahoo. You’ll find the FDA site, the manufacturer’s site and a host of other sites. Pay attention but remember - you are responsible for what you take and why.

Nursing homes. Assisted living. Rest homes. Rehab facilities. Group homes. There are a lot of places we can end up or put our loved ones. Guess what? They will not make a great deal of an effort to tell you what medical services they provide.
Nice curtains in Grandma’s room do not balance out that no one knows what to do if she chokes on supper.
It is up to you to find out just what training the staff has at a facility. What medical help can you or your loved one expect? Are they trained in CPR and will they do it? Will someone take a blood pressure or supervise medications?
You will be shocked and horrified if you start asking questions. A great many facilities where we or our loved ones may end up are just curtains and a bed.

Man up, or woman up as the case may be. Most of the things that happen to you, most of the things that make you sick are things that do not require a hospital.
Suck it up and deal with it. The sniffles won’t kill you nor will a bug stuck in your ear.
Get a family doctor, find an Urgent Care center or clinic. Don’t go to the hospital for every little thing.

There is not one disease caused by a virus that we have a cure for. There is nothing that a doctor or a hospital can do to cure your cold. Stay home, rest and drink plenty of fluids. That goes for the flu, as well. You’re gonna feel lousy. Get used to it.

Let’s talk about old people. How about you pay some attention to grandma instead of dumping her in a home? She’s old, tired and things are starting not to work. Lots of the people she knew have died, maybe even her spouse or children or grandchildren.
Old people can be depressed, scared, lonely. Isolation creates confusion in everyone, so don’t be surprised if the old man living alone is a little off.
If they must live in a facility of some sort, visit as often as you can. Pay attention to the little things, cleanliness, the quality of the meals, the assistance with medication, the interactions between staff and residents.
If you find poppa sitting in the hall, staring at the wall, you should be concerned.
Old folks don’t like to make trouble. They’ll endure a lot of abuse and suffering in order to not make waves. Your loved one’s quality of life might be up to you, so pay attention!

Hey, you’re all grown up. You watch the ads on TV. You see the billboards. You know all about smoking, high blood pressure, overeating. No one is going to make you treat yourself with respect and love. That’s up to you. It’s your life. How about taking charge of it?
Oh, sure. They can make the world outside your house non-smoking. They can ban trans-fats in your restaurant fries. Let’s face it. You can duck and dodge responsibility for your health. That makes you, what? Five years old?

You’re sick. Gotta go to work. Gotta go to school. Gotta go… Um… NO!
Hey. You caught it from somebody. Don’t you wish he or she had stayed home? Of course you do. Guess what? That applies to you as well. Stay home if you’re sick. If you’re getting an award for twenty years without taking a sick day, you probably made dozens or hundreds of the people around you sick.

Immunizations: Let’s face it. No one dies from tetanus or diphtheria or whooping cough any more. Why get your children vaccinated?
The truth is that people get sick from each of the diseases that your doctor offers immunizations for. Just, by and large, not in the United States. We’re free of the misery and deaths caused by many diseases because we immunize.
Any immunization, like any medication, carries a risk of complications. That risk is statistically small, so small that your child is much more endangered by riding in your car or taking a bath.
Ask about the immunizations. Ask about alternative vaccines or formulas. But, for heaven’s sake, don’t be stupid. Don’t risk your children, and other children, by not immunizing.

Ambulances are for E MERGEN CIES!. They are not your taxi to the hospital. They are not your in-home attendant. They are not the solution to your loneliness. They cannot replace you in controlling your ten year old.
Ambulances are a resource for an emergency, where life and limb are at risk.