Keep your own health records
Maintaining your own health-care records will make it easy for you to provide your doctor with important information - and could even save your life. You can store your medical info in the simple, colour-coded folder system, or opt for software to keep records on your computer or even online. The best system: the one that's easiest for you to complete and maintain. Here's what to include.
Red folder Must-have information
keep this folder of basic and emergency information at the front of your medical records.
Blue folder Doctor's records
This is where to keep information about doctor's visits, hospital stays, procedures and test results. From now on, ask for copies of reports on tests, procedures and important visits to the doctor as they happen, so that your file will be up to date.
Here's the places to track vital statistics, such as your weight, as well as the results of ongoing home testing - such as blood sugar tests for diabetes, home cholesterol checks, home blood pressure checks and so on. Your yellow folder should include:
1 What is the name of the drug? Is it a brand-name drug or a generic?
2 Why is it being prescribed?
3 How, when and for how long should I take it?
4 Will I need a repeat prescription? How can I get one?
5 What are the side of effects, and what should I do if I have any adverse effects?
6 How soon should it start working? How will I know?
7 Will I need a smaller dose because of my age or because I'm a woman?
8 Do I need to take it all, or can I stop when I feel better?
9 Should I avoid any foods, beverages, (including alcohol), medication or supplements while taking it?
10 What if I miss a dose?
11 How should I store it?
The next step in smart medicine management: have all your prescriptions dispensed by one pharmacy. Your pharmacist can maintain a list of all your medicines and screen for drug interactions to avoid problems.
Survive your hospital stay
Each year, a surprisingly large number of people die in hospitals - not as a result of a medical condition but due to medical mistakes such as a wrong diagnosis, inappropriate treatments or hospital-acquired infections. In the UK it has been estimated that medical errors contribute to 72,000 deaths a year. According to the National Patient Safety Agency, about one in ten patients admitted to NHS hospitals is harmed, to some degree, by their medical care - and this despite admitted under-reporting of medical errors. Adverse events are more likely in men, elderly people and emergency patients. These steps can help you to prevent something from going awry the next time you require overnight medical care.
Choose the best hospital in your area When you need a scheduled procedure - or before, if you want to be armed with information just in case - check out and compare your local hospitals on the NHS choices website (www.nhs.uk/pages/homepage.aspx). New rules mean that if your doctor says you need to see a specialist you can choose from any provider of NHS treatment. This may not apply, though, to accidents and other emergencies where you are taken to hospital by ambulance, or to conditions where your GP deems that you need to see a specialist quickly. Nor does it apply to mental health and maternity services.
Look for a 'high-volume' surgeon New studies show that doctors who have had more experience performing specific procedures really do get the best results. In research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer patients treated by highly experienced surgeons were much more likely to be cancer-free five years after surgery than patients treated by surgeons with less
experience. Ask your doctor how many times he or she performs the procedure in a year, and how many overall.
And a study of more than 11,000 older women related treated for breast cancer found that those who went to high-volume hospitals were less likely to die than those whose surgery was performed at lower-volume hospitals.
Before a procedure, confer with your GP Find out what tests, drugs and processes to expect - and whether there are any drugs you should avoid. Write down what you find. During your stay, you or a family member or friend should consult the list each time you are given a drug, a doctor's review or a treatment. If it's not on the list, find out more about the drug and why you need it. Not satisfied? Ask for a delay while hospital staff consult your doctor.
Find out who will be taking care of you Once you've on the ward, find out from a nurse which doctors and other nurses will be taking care of you. Later, if a nurse or junior doctor is doing
Maintaining your own health-care records will make it easy for you to provide your doctor with important information - and could even save your life. You can store your medical info in the simple, colour-coded folder system, or opt for software to keep records on your computer or even online. The best system: the one that's easiest for you to complete and maintain. Here's what to include.
Red folder Must-have information
keep this folder of basic and emergency information at the front of your medical records.
- Emergency health information: keep a list of life-threatening allergies or other health conditions that medical personnel should know about immediately in case of an emergency. Put this info into the folder, label it 'EMERGENCY INFO', and make sure it's fine file in your folder of medical records.
- Contact information for your health-care team: make a note of your GP's name, and the surgery name, address and telephone number. Also not the name and contact details of any other health-care
- professionals that you see, such as physiotherapists or hospital consultants.
- Emergency contact info: list the names, phone numbers and addresses of relatives and friends who should be contacted if you or your spouse has a medical emergency.
- Copies of any advance directive: If you have made an advance directive specifying treatments and you would refuse in certain circumstances - a so-called 'living will' - or have appointed a health-care proxy (someone to take decisions should you be incapable of doing so), keep a copy of the paperwork here. Remember to give a copy to your GP as well, and to tell your next of kin that you have made such a treatment.
Blue folder Doctor's records
This is where to keep information about doctor's visits, hospital stays, procedures and test results. From now on, ask for copies of reports on tests, procedures and important visits to the doctor as they happen, so that your file will be up to date.
- Current records: ask each for your current doctors for copies of your health records. If you've seen one doctor for many years, ask if the office can create a summary for you. Include your dentist, optomerist and any specialists you see regularly.
- Reports from specialists: your GP's records will probably contain details of any hospital or specialist treatment you have had. You can also ask each hospital you've attended for a full copy of your records relating to your treatment there. There will be a charge.
- Immunisation records: include current immunisation and, if possible, past immunisations
- Spectacles prescription: this is place for a copy of your vision prescription.
- Test results: keep copies of X-rays, blood tests and other results in a separate file.
- Doctor's reports on medical procedures: if you've had outpatient or inpatient hospital treatments, surgery or other procedures, ask the institution for copies of your records.
- Copies of prescriptions: for each drug you take, file a copy of the prescription and contact details for the pharmcy where it was dispensed.
- Over-the-counter remedies: Keep a list of any that you use on a regular basis, such as low-dose aspirin. If you see your doctor for a specific health complaint, be sure to bring along a list of any non-prescription remedies you've been taking along with your prescription drugs.
- Vitamins and other supplements: Keep a list of supplements - such as multivitamins, calcium, vitamin D, fish oil or herbal supplements - that you take on a regular basis. Note the type, brand name and the amount you take each day.
- Side effects list: on a separate sheet of paper, note anything you've taken that's caused side effects. Include the name of the drug, remedy or a supplement; when and how much you took; details about the side effects; other drugs and remedies you were using at the same time.
- A list of drugs, you've been told not to take If you've ever been told you have an allergy or have had a serious reaction to a drug, make a note of it. Include any relevant test results or other into here, too.
Here's the places to track vital statistics, such as your weight, as well as the results of ongoing home testing - such as blood sugar tests for diabetes, home cholesterol checks, home blood pressure checks and so on. Your yellow folder should include:
- Your height and weight, tracked over time: log both four times a year. Watch for diminshing height - a warning sign of osteoporosis of the spine. Take weight changes seriously, too. Unintended weight gain or weight loss could be a sign of an underlying health problem and warrants a call to your doctor.
- Your waist measurement: experts now know that your waist circumference can help to determine whether you're at risk of metabolic syndrome - a collection of symptoms and conditions that raises your risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and more. You're in the danger zone if your waist measures more than 89cm/35in (for women) and more than 94cm/37 in for men. A waist for more than 102cm/40in is a serious threat.
- Your BMI: short for 'body mass index', this number reveals whether your weight is healthy for your height. A BMI of 18.5-24.9 is healthy; 25-29.9 is overweight; 30-plus is obese. The best way to figure out your BMI is with an online calculator (the maths is fairly complex). Most health websites have one.
- Results of ongoing home testing: keep track of your blood sugar levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other common health measurements, whether taken at home, at work, at the doctor's office or elsewhere. This will help you to notice trends and provide info you can show to your doctor in case the numbers move in an unexpected direction.
1 What is the name of the drug? Is it a brand-name drug or a generic?
2 Why is it being prescribed?
3 How, when and for how long should I take it?
4 Will I need a repeat prescription? How can I get one?
5 What are the side of effects, and what should I do if I have any adverse effects?
6 How soon should it start working? How will I know?
7 Will I need a smaller dose because of my age or because I'm a woman?
8 Do I need to take it all, or can I stop when I feel better?
9 Should I avoid any foods, beverages, (including alcohol), medication or supplements while taking it?
10 What if I miss a dose?
11 How should I store it?
The next step in smart medicine management: have all your prescriptions dispensed by one pharmacy. Your pharmacist can maintain a list of all your medicines and screen for drug interactions to avoid problems.
Survive your hospital stay
Each year, a surprisingly large number of people die in hospitals - not as a result of a medical condition but due to medical mistakes such as a wrong diagnosis, inappropriate treatments or hospital-acquired infections. In the UK it has been estimated that medical errors contribute to 72,000 deaths a year. According to the National Patient Safety Agency, about one in ten patients admitted to NHS hospitals is harmed, to some degree, by their medical care - and this despite admitted under-reporting of medical errors. Adverse events are more likely in men, elderly people and emergency patients. These steps can help you to prevent something from going awry the next time you require overnight medical care.
Choose the best hospital in your area When you need a scheduled procedure - or before, if you want to be armed with information just in case - check out and compare your local hospitals on the NHS choices website (www.nhs.uk/pages/homepage.aspx). New rules mean that if your doctor says you need to see a specialist you can choose from any provider of NHS treatment. This may not apply, though, to accidents and other emergencies where you are taken to hospital by ambulance, or to conditions where your GP deems that you need to see a specialist quickly. Nor does it apply to mental health and maternity services.
Look for a 'high-volume' surgeon New studies show that doctors who have had more experience performing specific procedures really do get the best results. In research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer patients treated by highly experienced surgeons were much more likely to be cancer-free five years after surgery than patients treated by surgeons with less
experience. Ask your doctor how many times he or she performs the procedure in a year, and how many overall.
And a study of more than 11,000 older women related treated for breast cancer found that those who went to high-volume hospitals were less likely to die than those whose surgery was performed at lower-volume hospitals.
Before a procedure, confer with your GP Find out what tests, drugs and processes to expect - and whether there are any drugs you should avoid. Write down what you find. During your stay, you or a family member or friend should consult the list each time you are given a drug, a doctor's review or a treatment. If it's not on the list, find out more about the drug and why you need it. Not satisfied? Ask for a delay while hospital staff consult your doctor.
Find out who will be taking care of you Once you've on the ward, find out from a nurse which doctors and other nurses will be taking care of you. Later, if a nurse or junior doctor is doing
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