Are You Taking Your Meds Correctly?
Are you on any prescription medications? Do you take any over-the-counter medications? Do you take any supplements or vitamins?
Many of us are taking our medications incorrectly, including myself. I have recently been prescribed two new drugs. And like all of us, I also received a 5-page sheet of instructions from the pharmacy. I admit I didn't read it. I read the directions on the bottle: "take once daily" for one and "take twice daily" for the other. I was not told by the doctor or nurse practitioner how to take the medications, let alone if they were compatible with my other medications.
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Why do You Need a Patient Advocate?
This is a question medical providers often ask and the reasons are many.
I was recently hired by a new client, an educated woman who had done an extensive amount of research about her medical condition but realized that having extra ears and someone not "emotionally" vested in her condition was a good idea. We discussed her condition and made a plan for a telemedicine appointment with a new physician; before the visit, we discussed the goals, what she hoped to gain from the visit, and reworked the questions numerous times to achieve her goals.
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Do You Have a "Go Bag?"
I have a client who was admitted to the hospital unexpectedly and had nothing that she needed with her, including the essential cell phone charger, on which we all depend.
This is easily prevented, especially if you are going to see your health care provider for a “sick visit” or going to an urgent care. We all should have our “go bag” ready. It doesn’t have to be big, but it should include a few essentials:
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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 to meet. The first was 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?
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Prior Authorization
This is a term, unfortunately, that we are all becoming familiar with. If you are on long-term medication, you may have received a letter from your insurance company, telling you that this year, there is a possibility that your medication may be substituted for one that is “similar”, assure you that this is fine for you medically, however, if your health care provider feels stronger that you should stay on your original medication, they can write to the insurance company and get it changed. Sounds easy, right wrong. It is a nightmare, time consuming, and the providers office typically loses money getting this done.
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Do you understand your cancer treatment and prognosis?
Cancer treatment has gotten better and better over the years, and being diagnosed with cancer is not necessarily a death sentence. There are more effective treatments with fewer side effects, nausea is controlled and many people with cancer view it as a “detour”, and “inconvenience” and go on to live normal lives. Unfortunately, this is not always true. Not all cancers are curable, but they may be treatable; it is possible to go into remission and live quality filled life for quite some time.
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Do you need a hearing aid?
As we age, the majority of us have diminished hearing, which can impact the quality of our lives. We find ourselves not hearing conversations and nodding when we have no clue what is said. We fear comments about “being old and not hearing,” and this leads to increased isolation, at a time, particularly with Covid, when it is more important than ever to be engaged.
Unfortunately, despite this being an enormous problem for the elderly, many of us can’t afford hearing aids, costing upwards of $4000! Typically, insurance companies (including Medicare) don’t pay for hearing aids, and we become even more isolated
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Be your own Advocate
“Every day, when I think it can’t get worse,” as the saying goes. What, you ask? The health care system.
As a Physician Assistant with 40 + years of experience, certification as a Patient Advocate, I continue to hit walls; if I am ready to “quit,” what about everyone else who doesn’t have my knowledge of the health care system or my ability to get “past the front desk.?”
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Covid Aside---Vaccines you Need Now
“I got my booster shot, did you?” I am not only talking about Covid. Many of us have forgotten the routine boosters we still need during this pandemic.
Shingrix- This is to protect us against shingles, a preventable and very painful miserable illness. If you have had chickenpox as a child (or even as an adult), you are at risk for developing shingles as the virus lays dormant in nerve endings. It can be triggered by illness, or stress, or other factors. We are all eligible to get this shot beginning at age 50. It is one shot with a booster given 2-6 months later. Most importantly, IT IS NOT COVERED BY MEDICARE but is paid for by most commercial insurances, so please get it before you go on Medicare and have to pay for it out of pocket. You can get it at most pharmacies or through your medical provider’s office.
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Even our Medical Providers have Breaking Points
There is no question that the pandemic has stressed our hospitals, doctors, and nurses. Despite it all, our providers have continued to take care of us, sacrificing their own health, time with their families, and all too often, contracting Covid, and even dying.
The COVID pandemic has forced both providers and, therefore, hospitals to focus on the sickest patients, in the beginning of the crisis, typically those with Covid. Lately however, our caregivers have had to make choices to treat a patient with Covid vs. those with cancer complications. And it has caused great anxiety for those caregivers as well as burn-out. There was recently an article in the LA Times written by a physician describing the difference in her mindset when the pandemic began to one year later, after we knew how serious it was, and after immunizations were available. In the beginning, she had great compassion for anyone who developed Covid, and now, all she feels is anger, particularly at having to treat those who refused a vaccine, is now putting others at risk, and continuing to tax the overburdened system as well as expose others to the virus.
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