A Successful Patient-Doctor Relationship – How to get the Best from your Doctor!
1. You feel a personal connection with your doctor. Either that started when you both shared conversation about something you both have in common or it emerged based on a sense of kinship. You like your doctor and he/she likes you.
2. Good communication. This is an essential component to a successful relationship with your medical provider. You and your doctor listen to one another and you feel heard. You understand what your doctor says, and if you don’t, ask him/her to repeat or redefine instructions until you do. If you have mutual understanding, meaning you understand what your doctor is sharing with you about your medical issues and he/she understands you, then you are off to a good start.
3. You are comfortable asking questions. Now, this is a tough one for a lot of people because we’re afraid of offending our doctors, afraid they’ll see our quest for information as challenges to their expertise. Muster your courage because if you don’t ask those questions, you’ll be less likely to follow through with what the doctor advises and that undermines the relationship. An important part of creating a collaborative relationship with your doctor is the freedom to ask questions about your illness, disease and proposed treatment plan.
4. You are a participant in your care. To create a collaborative relationship, you as a patient need to be involved, engaged in your health and medical care and in the relationship with your doctor. Nothing affects interest on the part of a doctor more than a patient who just doesn’t care.
5. Mutual respect. This means that both you and your doctor respect one another as people, and respect what you both bring to the table. Your doctor brings medical expertise, and you bring your expertise with your symptoms, experience with your illness or condition and preferences about treatment plans.
6. Mutual honesty. Honesty with your doctor goes a long way. If you’re truthful, even about embarrassing habits or symptoms, or medications you stopped taking, you are seen as a credible patient. Credibility is what you want. This enhances trust. At the same time, if you don’t trust your doctor, walk away. A relationship based on lost or absent confidence in his/her capability as a medical professional is not worth your time.
7. Mutual discussion. The doctor’s office isn’t a classroom and you’re not the student. It’s perfectly acceptable for you to engage in a discussion with your doctor about important aspects of your medical care. Maybe you’re unsure about the diagnosis. You can ask in a polite manner, “Are there any other possible diagnoses for what I have?” You both probe for information—you probe for information about what the doctor is suggesting for you, and he/she probes for information about whether what he/she is proposing works for you.
8. Shared decision-making. A good relationship includes coming to a mutual agreement on a treatment plan, based on your doctor’s expert medical guidance, your preferences and values, tolerance to risk and more. For example, if you aren’t comfortable with surgery and there’s a good alternative, make that known. Doctors know all too well that if you don’t get behind a treatment plan he/she has suggested, you’re not going to follow through. Better to share your concerns up front.
A successful relationship with your doctor means a collaborative one, meaning you are part of the conversation. The journal, Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management reports that partnerships and effective interpersonal communication make it possible for patients and physicians to work together to help patients follow mutually agreed upon recommendations.
with many thanks for this wise and much needed article. Written by Martine Ehrenclou, M.A.. Martine is a patient advocate and award-winning author of "The Take-Charge Patient: How You Can Get the Best Medical Care."
Learn more about Martine and her work at thetakechargepatient.com
Read more at http://www.diabeticconnect.com/diabetes-information-articles/general/324-the-all-important-relationship-with-your-doctor-8-tips-to-improve-your-medical-care#M4IwvYWVA0dxQutd.99
My Health Record:
Individuals have a number of mechanisms available to them to manage the content of, and to control access to, their and/or their dependent's My Health Record(s).
These include - Limiting access
Access to the record or documents can be changed to restrict access to information they consider sensitive.
What is in My Health Record?
By default, when an individual registers for a My Health Record they give standing consent for all registered healthcare provider organisations to access and upload information to their My Health Record. Learn more here.
Pharmacist review, home checks part of medication strategy for people with dementia
By: Dallas Bastian in News, Top Stories August 4, 2017
Australian researchers are hoping to improve outcomes for people with dementia after they are discharged from hospital through a medication strategy that starts in the lead-up to discharge and continues into the home.
Associate professor Ashley Kable, from the University of Newcastle, said medication generally changes for people once they’ve been treated in hospital, which makes self-administration even harder for people with dementia, and added the responsibility often falls back on carers.
Kable said currently, home medication reviews can be requested by a general practitioner following a patient’s discharge from hospital, but are not always done. She said the safe medication strategy will include clinical pharmacist review of medications and communication with the carer, training in hospital to use medication dose administration aids and provision of a discharge medication plan and explanation.
The discharge summary will include a note for general practitioners to request a home medicines review. These will be conducted by community pharmacists who will aim to identify any prescribed medications that may be a risk for people with dementia, such as those that may cause confusion or result in falls, any potential drug interactions or contraindicated medications, any adjuvant medications being used in addition to prescribed medications that may be a risk, and any modifications to medications that may be required for a person with dementia.
SO, when your loved one is discharged from hospital, do make sure to go to your usual Pharmacist and ask for a Home Medicines Review. Many of the usual medications may have been changed, upped in dosage, or Brand altered in the hospital. YOU, need to know as the result can be most serious for your loved one. YOU, as a Carer, can do this. Alternatively, have a chat with your loved one's GP and have him write a note to your Pharmacist to do this.
How the pharmacist can simplify a dosing schedule during an Home Medicines Review:
• Reduce dosing frequency and recommend long-acting dosage forms where possible
• Recommend a higher strength to reduce the number of dosage units for a specific medicine where two tablets of the same medicine are taken at different times in a day
• Recommend a lower strength product where the person is cutting tablets in half or into quarters
• Consolidate dosing times to fit in with the patient’s lifestyle
• Recommend a combination product if suitable to reduce the number of medicines being used
• Recommend a suitable adherence aid for the patient with cognitive or dexterity issues
for a closer look:
https://www.veteransmates.net.au/documents/10184/38810/Nov_2016_GP_Insert.pdf/e9b3126e-bf0e-4238-bd74-8cdd617458d0
"With the focus on medicines and older Australians in these lists, we urge people to consider if they are on the right medicine, or whether they could be taking too many medicines and if you are due for a review. It’s always timely to check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if any medicines are unnecessary and if they could cause harm if taken together."
The 1st May 2018 Medicare Benefits Schedule
http://www.mbsonline.gov.au/internet/mbsonline/publishing.nsf/Content/news-2018-05-01-latest-news-May
Page last updated: 1 May 2018
More News
News for MBS Online
1 May 2018
Changes to Medicare Benefits Schedule Urgent After-Hours GP Services 1 March 2018 General Questions and Answers:
MBS files (XML, DOC, PDF, ZIP) are now available to download.
Page last updated: 1 May 2018
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/mbsonline/publishing.nsf/Content/downloads
1 May 2018
1. You feel a personal connection with your doctor. Either that started when you both shared conversation about something you both have in common or it emerged based on a sense of kinship. You like your doctor and he/she likes you.
2. Good communication. This is an essential component to a successful relationship with your medical provider. You and your doctor listen to one another and you feel heard. You understand what your doctor says, and if you don’t, ask him/her to repeat or redefine instructions until you do. If you have mutual understanding, meaning you understand what your doctor is sharing with you about your medical issues and he/she understands you, then you are off to a good start.
3. You are comfortable asking questions. Now, this is a tough one for a lot of people because we’re afraid of offending our doctors, afraid they’ll see our quest for information as challenges to their expertise. Muster your courage because if you don’t ask those questions, you’ll be less likely to follow through with what the doctor advises and that undermines the relationship. An important part of creating a collaborative relationship with your doctor is the freedom to ask questions about your illness, disease and proposed treatment plan.
4. You are a participant in your care. To create a collaborative relationship, you as a patient need to be involved, engaged in your health and medical care and in the relationship with your doctor. Nothing affects interest on the part of a doctor more than a patient who just doesn’t care.
5. Mutual respect. This means that both you and your doctor respect one another as people, and respect what you both bring to the table. Your doctor brings medical expertise, and you bring your expertise with your symptoms, experience with your illness or condition and preferences about treatment plans.
6. Mutual honesty. Honesty with your doctor goes a long way. If you’re truthful, even about embarrassing habits or symptoms, or medications you stopped taking, you are seen as a credible patient. Credibility is what you want. This enhances trust. At the same time, if you don’t trust your doctor, walk away. A relationship based on lost or absent confidence in his/her capability as a medical professional is not worth your time.
7. Mutual discussion. The doctor’s office isn’t a classroom and you’re not the student. It’s perfectly acceptable for you to engage in a discussion with your doctor about important aspects of your medical care. Maybe you’re unsure about the diagnosis. You can ask in a polite manner, “Are there any other possible diagnoses for what I have?” You both probe for information—you probe for information about what the doctor is suggesting for you, and he/she probes for information about whether what he/she is proposing works for you.
8. Shared decision-making. A good relationship includes coming to a mutual agreement on a treatment plan, based on your doctor’s expert medical guidance, your preferences and values, tolerance to risk and more. For example, if you aren’t comfortable with surgery and there’s a good alternative, make that known. Doctors know all too well that if you don’t get behind a treatment plan he/she has suggested, you’re not going to follow through. Better to share your concerns up front.
A successful relationship with your doctor means a collaborative one, meaning you are part of the conversation. The journal, Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management reports that partnerships and effective interpersonal communication make it possible for patients and physicians to work together to help patients follow mutually agreed upon recommendations.
with many thanks for this wise and much needed article. Written by Martine Ehrenclou, M.A.. Martine is a patient advocate and award-winning author of "The Take-Charge Patient: How You Can Get the Best Medical Care."
Learn more about Martine and her work at thetakechargepatient.com
Read more at http://www.diabeticconnect.com/diabetes-information-articles/general/324-the-all-important-relationship-with-your-doctor-8-tips-to-improve-your-medical-care#M4IwvYWVA0dxQutd.99
My Health Record:
Individuals have a number of mechanisms available to them to manage the content of, and to control access to, their and/or their dependent's My Health Record(s).
These include - Limiting access
- Limiting access to the whole of their record and having a Record Access Code that needs to be given to healthcare provider organisations who they wish to grant access and/or;
- Limiting access to specific documents in their My Health Record, and having a Document Access Code to give to select healthcare provider organisations for them to gain access to the restricted set of documents;
- Turning off automatic checking for a My Health Record, which will prevent a healthcare provider organisation being automatically notified via their local clinical software if a person has a record.
Access to the record or documents can be changed to restrict access to information they consider sensitive.
What is in My Health Record?
By default, when an individual registers for a My Health Record they give standing consent for all registered healthcare provider organisations to access and upload information to their My Health Record. Learn more here.
Pharmacist review, home checks part of medication strategy for people with dementia
By: Dallas Bastian in News, Top Stories August 4, 2017
Australian researchers are hoping to improve outcomes for people with dementia after they are discharged from hospital through a medication strategy that starts in the lead-up to discharge and continues into the home.
Associate professor Ashley Kable, from the University of Newcastle, said medication generally changes for people once they’ve been treated in hospital, which makes self-administration even harder for people with dementia, and added the responsibility often falls back on carers.
Kable said currently, home medication reviews can be requested by a general practitioner following a patient’s discharge from hospital, but are not always done. She said the safe medication strategy will include clinical pharmacist review of medications and communication with the carer, training in hospital to use medication dose administration aids and provision of a discharge medication plan and explanation.
The discharge summary will include a note for general practitioners to request a home medicines review. These will be conducted by community pharmacists who will aim to identify any prescribed medications that may be a risk for people with dementia, such as those that may cause confusion or result in falls, any potential drug interactions or contraindicated medications, any adjuvant medications being used in addition to prescribed medications that may be a risk, and any modifications to medications that may be required for a person with dementia.
SO, when your loved one is discharged from hospital, do make sure to go to your usual Pharmacist and ask for a Home Medicines Review. Many of the usual medications may have been changed, upped in dosage, or Brand altered in the hospital. YOU, need to know as the result can be most serious for your loved one. YOU, as a Carer, can do this. Alternatively, have a chat with your loved one's GP and have him write a note to your Pharmacist to do this.
How the pharmacist can simplify a dosing schedule during an Home Medicines Review:
• Reduce dosing frequency and recommend long-acting dosage forms where possible
• Recommend a higher strength to reduce the number of dosage units for a specific medicine where two tablets of the same medicine are taken at different times in a day
• Recommend a lower strength product where the person is cutting tablets in half or into quarters
• Consolidate dosing times to fit in with the patient’s lifestyle
• Recommend a combination product if suitable to reduce the number of medicines being used
• Recommend a suitable adherence aid for the patient with cognitive or dexterity issues
for a closer look:
https://www.veteransmates.net.au/documents/10184/38810/Nov_2016_GP_Insert.pdf/e9b3126e-bf0e-4238-bd74-8cdd617458d0
"With the focus on medicines and older Australians in these lists, we urge people to consider if they are on the right medicine, or whether they could be taking too many medicines and if you are due for a review. It’s always timely to check with your doctor or pharmacist to see if any medicines are unnecessary and if they could cause harm if taken together."
The 1st May 2018 Medicare Benefits Schedule
http://www.mbsonline.gov.au/internet/mbsonline/publishing.nsf/Content/news-2018-05-01-latest-news-May
Page last updated: 1 May 2018
More News
News for MBS Online
1 May 2018
Changes to Medicare Benefits Schedule Urgent After-Hours GP Services 1 March 2018 General Questions and Answers:
MBS files (XML, DOC, PDF, ZIP) are now available to download.
Page last updated: 1 May 2018
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/mbsonline/publishing.nsf/Content/downloads
1 May 2018