Some advice????

This came up during a phone call with a friend.

The subject of doctors and hospital stays popped into the conversation.

The topic drifted to seeing a doctor, surgeon or specialist that isn't your primary caregiver.

If you do see another doctor make sure that you take some steps to make sure you are getting proper care, medications
and or tests.


Some of us have allergies to food, dyes in food or to man made materials.

To protect yourself if YOU THINK you have any kind of allergies or reactions to materials please take the time to get it checked out and look at getting a MEDIC ALERT bracelet or necklace. Please update it yearly.

You can also get a copy of any medical records you think you may need should you go see another doctor.
You will have to sign a MEDICAL RECORDS RELEASE form and depending on the facility they can copy
the material for you for a nominal fee.

When I worked in the records room some companies would charge 10 cents a page..I do not know what they charge now.
You can also arrange to review your own record and ask to have certain pages copied for you.

-----------------------------------------

Doctor's notes are good to have.
History and phyicals and Operation Reports help.
For hospital stays most of the paperwork is just that paperwork, Intake Output records, progress reports aren't really important..
At 10 cents a page, a lengthy hospital stay can get you a huge bill quickly..

---------------------------------------------

This really happened and scared the beejeezus outta me.

My GF was enrolled with the Medic Alert program. All her allergies were noted in her profile but she suddenly became
allergic to latex. Latex can be found in the elastic in your underwear, She would end up with a bra and panties pattern on her skin where the latex would
break her out in a rash.

She went to see a doctor and the Doc gave her BENADRYL.... Because the Benadryl has a dye in the pills, that made her rash worse.
Because there was no communcation between the Med ALert people, her regular doc and an ER doctor, she almost died.
. A very scary night indeed!

Do not count on having your paperwork available every time you have a medical emergency.


Take a few steps to protect yourself or your loved ones.

I'm a firm believer that you and your doctors are partners in being responsible for your health care. If you ever have had *your 15 minutes* in a doctor's office to go over a variety of problems (and that time includes his reviewing your records) you know just how important your part of this teamwork is.

When I go in for my yearly physical, I prepare a *patient update* sheet which I make as organized as possible and include my current medications and complaints. When I am prescribed a medication, I do some research on the web to try and be aware of side effects and interactions with other medications or supplements. To expect a doctor or a pharmacist to care as much about your own health care as you do is being a bit overly optimistic. There have been instances where I have found important information which my physician was not aware and made changes to my treatment because of the information I found.

On the other side of this coin, you can drive yourself nuts trying to comprehend and figure out all the ins and outs of medication.
If you too want to drive yourself nuts, this is a good website to check out. http://www.umm.edu/altmed/index.html