| Show You have a right Don't be intintidated or sweet-talketo ask questions until you get satisfactory answers d PPE: Talk Back To Youir EARL UBELL woman of 25 visits an specialist for the first and asks: "Doctor is the medication life-savi- 1 1 - a I : :Trp:i:vhz' gPt1 r- z ' Y kisxti711 ! t I ---4 I- 1 s'i4:' '' More questions about drugs: : t 1 - -- A 14r' ° 4' 41 1 1 iI ( t:1 s ‘e r: - iii 7- :' 40 '4 5ttfiril 7 t 1 14 Research shows that patients who ask questions motivate doctors and masas to give them information—plus they are seen as more intelligent and involved By expressing yourself you make it clear that you take yourself seriously and expect others to do so Asking for the best care indicates that you probably will refuse treatment that seems unbeneficial and are informed and alert enough to notice Such patient awareness can be crucial in the case of medications: In some hospitals drug errors run as high as 10 I know one diabetic who kept a nurse from injecting him with a double dose of insulin If he hadn't known his correct dosage he couldn't have spotted and objected to the nurse's error Coma and death could have resulted What should you toll your doctor? Nearly everything! Generally What to ask your doctor about drugs Medicines top the list of critical Bush thought this issue so important that she spoke out on it for the National Council on Patient Information and Education In a public-servic- e TV announcement she urged: "Ask your doctor or pharmacist about any new medicine Ask how and when to take it about side effects and precautions And ask if it will work with other medicines you take" milltó - I - 'T:iY- Doctor-patiedialogue helps clarify what is needed for the best possible treatment topics to discuss with your doctor In fact last year former First Lady Barbara 1 r111 - - 1 1 0 N ''!1'1 -- ab 4 vo i - -- 444 ' 1:4441 oda nt z pawing N1111 -- university were you medicine too In this age of high-tec- h often the physician squeezes you the patient out of the medical process You're left in the dark You don't know enough to question the doctor's move and he won't explain it The results could be fatal On the other hand talking with your dividends doctor could pay Patients who ask questions motivate doctors and nurses to give them more information and they are perceived as more intelligent and involved in their own care than patients who keep silent says Dr Debra L Roter professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore She and Judith A Hall professor of psychology at Northeastern University in Boston wrote the book Doctors Talking With Patients Patients Talking With Doctors (Auburn House) ' k : should you want know? From which The bonuses of being a partner in your own medical care ' ' i t' ' ' prescribed for ear?" He replies: awarded your medical degree?" His arrogance heightens her pain and the anxiety she feels about having an unfamiliar illness treated by an unknown doctor She silently writes a check vowing never to see him again She is right to cross such a doctor off her list (happily his sort is becoming rarer) and to find one of the many physicians willing to treat patients as partners As a patient your life and health depend on talking freely to your doctor Many patients fearful of learning the worst don't want to ask about their health problems Others—awed by the physician—are afraid to challenge medical authority More than half of all patients who don't speak up just don't understand the medical lingo and are too embarrassed to say so Or they feel guilty sure that they've brought the disease on themselves If the illness is sexual shame silences them i ' FRIEND OF MINE Aa I 1: !' D tell your doubts fears likes and dislikes about treatments Specifically discuss: All past illnesses Every drug you take regularly—pre- scription (don't overlook psychiatric inmedications) and cluding aspirin Some doctors ask you to come to their offices with all your medicines in their containers to make sure you're getting the right doses and that drugs don't interact badly It's always a good idea to have the doctor see er all the medicines you take laid out in one place and it's crucial for women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant Don't wait for an invitation—show the doctor your medicines What is the name of the drug? Does it come in a cheaper generic form? Is the brand-nam- e drug better or is the generic compound just as good? (The generic version often is cheaper but it also may be less effective) What should the medicine do for me? If you don't understand what the doctor says ask for further explanation until you do You must understand what drugs do: Your life may depend on it What are the possible side effects? They might include fever rashes drowsiness dry mouth dizziness and blood problems Most medicines do elicit reactions of one sort or another in patients What foods drinks or medicines should I avoid—or seek out? With some antibiotics the doctor may tell you to ingest buttermilk or yogurt which the replenish good bacteria in the bowel that some medications destroy and that could prevent yeast infection live-cultu- re Ask these questions every time: Always ask "Why?" For instance a doctor says "Avoid air travel" when you have a head cold or inflamed sinuses assuming you already know why People who've ignored a doctor's urgings to avoid plane travel have said: "I thought the doctor was just saying 'Take it easy' Then I learned why not to fly with a head cold—the hard way" During swings in the plane's cabin pressure these people experience excruciating ear dampain some even suffer inner-ea- r age Remember this when you hear infants crying bitterly on airplanes Always ask about money Financial questions are best settled before the physician starts any complex treatment Even if you're insured you need to know the continued PAGE 8 APRIL 4 1993 PARADE MAGAZINE |
