| Show 4 (IMmmoinEMEMIMMkIMMMIIMMIEEMRIMMWMM1 DOCTORcontinued cost: Not all health policies cover every procedure And you will want a second d treatment opinion for a high-price- Questions to ask your surgeon: Now you can cut fat out of your breakfast without cutting the words lich creamy luscious rt smoi' Zeia p ng Tel 7 4 9US 1 exq! - vlit - f' 1: ' t )8 II 0YISit) :':1 st " 4 c ' ti In f7 C t-- - it - 0 ' I "( 't " ' ' - ' 14' r "° ' 1 6' r ° -- :c4!: ! 111 t ' ' '' :: :'' ' ' - ' ol Ik7 ! Act 7 i I '' Lieh i!D) 4 ' --1 Able delicious el ti Oil d:'h1ptifig'61'Of'dur ry cabulary x:-7- Philly Tree' It's fat free Now you can spread PhillyTrel inst 01922 OM Gemmel FoodSh 3 pain-contr- 1 ol More questions to ask: A ! f Ask how many times the surgeon has performed the operation planned for you How many did he or she do last year? A skilled surgeon in a large city may have done a commonly needed operation 100 doctimes a year or more a small-tow- n tor may have performed fewer In New York the state health department keeps track of coronary-bypas- s operations In Pennsylvania the state Health Care Cost Containment Council records and furnishes such data Ask about anesthesia If the doctor plans to put you to sleep with general anesthesia find out if he can operate instead with local or regional These are safer for some people and leave them feeling better at the end Ask about your illness Once your disease is diagnosed ask how you contracted it if you inherited it (important information for your children) and what it means for your future Ask how the doctor knows this proposed treatment works If based on wide scientific evidence fine But if the doctor says "In my experience" be wary! Ask why diagnostic tests are needed Some can be very costly and even damaging Persist Get a full explanation It's a team effort Some doctors still tell patients: "Leave it to me and the nurses We're trained to do this work" This approach dismisses patients—who might then consider dismissing them The physician the nurse and the technician work for you: You can "fire" them Dr Nancy Dickey a trustee of the American Medical Association reports: "New doctors are being formally trained to see patients as partners" To join the team ask your health-car- e providers how can Here are other suggestions: help you Bring to the doctor's office a list of questions and either paper and pen or a small tape recorder for the answers (If asked why explain that you can'tt recall the doctor's words otherwise and that the better you understand the: more closely you'll follow the doctor's plan) If the plan is too complex ask: "What three or four things must I do?' Reread the doctor's diagnosis of your illness then ask for any explanations you still need Consult books at the public library such as The American Medical Association's Encyclopedia of Medicine Ask your doctor for other titles Ask your pharmacist for the "drug insert" that comes with your medication telling its side effects and how it works But keep in mind that by Food and Drug Administration order pharmaceutical companies must list even rare side effects this can exaggerate the medical dangers Traits of good doctors patients PAGE 10 good A good doctor places you on APRIL 4 1993 PARADE MAGAZINE |
