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Take Charge to Improve the Quality of Your Healthcare
Building a healthy future is the project of a lifetime, and you are the superintendent.
As superintendent of your health improvement project, you're responsible for scheduling critical tasks like preventive exams, screenings, and immunizations. And when there are signs of trouble—symptoms of a chronic condition, for example—you need to stay on top of them so they don't get out of control.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (2007) estimates that 91,000 Americans die each year because they don't receive the right evidence-based care for chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease.
When you take charge of your health, it's also your responsibility to find skilled people to provide your healthcare services.
Your health plan's provider directory can help you locate contracted physicians and hospitals, but often that's the equivalent of searching the Yellow Pages. Websites like Community Checkup from the Puget Sound Health Allianceand Hospital Compare from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provide objective data to help you compare providers on the basis of quality.
Quality assurance is another responsibility of being superintendent of your health. That means holding medical providers to high quality standards, making sure services comply with best practices, and making sure they're done safely.
Medical errors cost money and cost lives. An Institute of Medicine report (2000) estimated that as many as 98,000 people die annually from preventable errors.
Budgeting? That, too, falls within a project superintendent's scope of responsibility. Are the fees charged by your health care providers in line with others providers? Are you confident they are not throwing in tests and procedures you don't really need? These are important considerations, because unnecessary and ineffective treatments amount to $750 billion every year, according to the Institute of Medicine (2012).
Finally, there's supervision. Most healthcare providers would probably laugh at the suggestion of being supervised by their patients. On the other hand, supervision means oversight. When patients are looking over the shoulders of their physicians, asking questions, and maintaining an informed dialogue with the physician, it leads to better treatment decisions and outcomes.
Along with being observant and attentive, a good supervisor works hard to establish and maintain open and honest communication with people working for him. That's especially important in the doctor's office. Communication is crucial to getting high-quality care and higher value for your healthcare dollar. Here are four ways to improve communication with your physician.
- Be informed. Research a condition you're facing so you are better able to talk to your doctor about it. Read brochures or other written information your doctor provides and talk with your doctor about them. Take notes during your visit so you can refer to them later and make sure you understand. The goal is not to be the smartest person in the room. It's about being informed so you can make decisions that produce the best outcomes.
- Be detailed. On the jobsite, contractors, subs and workers need detailed information to do their jobs correctly and within budget. Likewise, it's important to tell your doctor what's going on. Talk openly and honestly to your doctor about your health concerns and needs so he or she can help you. Even if you don't normally share how you feel, the doctor's office is a place where you should make an exception. Take a risk and share.
- Ask questions. Create a list of questions that you can take with you whether you are getting a checkup, talking about an illness or health condition, or discussing a test, medication, or procedure. Whatever the reason for your visit, it is important to be prepared.
- Get the answers you need. Doctor's visits go quickly. There can be a lot of information to absorb. Medical terms can be challenging. Speak up if you don't understand something—more than once if necessary. If you don't ask for clarification, your doctor will assume you understand. If you're sick, you may not remember things as well as you normally do, so take notes. Bring a friend or relative to the appointment. And don't hesitate to contact your doctor's office after your appointment if you realize later you missed something.
Union carpenters pride themselves on doing the job right. For more information on ways you can improve the quality of your healthcare experience, check out the information available from Own Your Health.