EVERY Medical Appointment Needs a Goal

Do you make a goal (or goals) for every one of your visits to your medical provider? You should, because, whether aware or not, providers typically have their own goals, and when you disrupt their plan, things can go awry for everyone.

Last week I went with a client for her bi-monthly visit to her oncologist for her low grade (chronic, but never curable,) lymphoma. Before the visit, we discussed the two goals that we needed met. The first her current fevers with night sweats for what appeared to be an acute infection, and the next was to discuss the current cancer treatment she had been on; Was it the right medication?  Was it time to change?

Unfortunately, the provider wasn’t prepared for the visit at all. He clearly hadn’t read her notes and didn’t even know that she had recently been started on two antibiotics, that she had had fevers, or that her cancer treatment had been stopped and then re-started.  He was expecting a 15 minute routine follow up visit, and this anything but.

Long story short, she had been followed by her nurse practitioner, who, while excellent, clearly didn’t communicate well with the physician. After ONE hour (during which time, the provider left three times, brought in the nurse practitioner, and changed his mind
many times), I continued to press for answers. I never lost sight of our goals for this visit. When the visit came to a close, the doctor took our coats off the door and “helped us put them on.” That was a first. When he finally agreed to call one of her other specialists, I asked “when we could expect to hear back from him”, and the response was “certainly not today.”  I told him that was fine, I was just trying to set expectations.

I was not difficult, but I had a goal for my client and wasn’t leaving until I knew her issues were resolved. In addition, she notified the other specialist to expect a call in the next day or two to be sure she wasn’t lost between the cracks.  She was called within 3 hours, and admitted to the hospital that night! There were issues during the stay, but we stayed on top of everything, and, to his credit, so did the ordinal provider. If we hadn’t formed a plan/goal on what needed to be addressed, hadn’t questioned her provider, (very nicely), she could have ended up another statistic.

 Make a list and stick to it. And if things do not progress in the time allotted, ask, “will this get done today or tomorrow?” I know doctors, nurses, and techs are overworked, not appreciated, but it is your life. Be courteous Make a goal and stick to it. Educate yourself. And get an advocate. We are worth our weight in gold!!!

#advocatesmakeitbetter. #educateyourself. #befirm,but reasonable #makeagoalandsticktoit.#getapatientadvocate