Unlike many people - of any age - who land in the hospital, Mom had a cadre of advocates making sure she was getting the best care. My sister, Mim, had a knack for asking medical staff the pertinent question. I had over twenty years experience in health care coverage, with deep background in patient issues & provider practices. Margaret was a nurse. Whitney, Mom's oldest grandchild, had little health care background, but no one could shake an answer out of a "I have to ask the doctor" nurse.
Most people don't have that sort of team keeping a loved one's health care team's feet to the fire. In fact, most people find themselves floundering when a loved one - of any age - needs medical care, especially in-hospital care. It doesn't help that doctors, the fount of most of the definitive information, tend to make rounds after visiting hours. We never had a problem with that - we just let the nursing staff (who kept trying to pry us out of Mom's room) know we weren't budging until AFTER we talked with her attending physician.
The best time to prepare for a possible hospital stay, including your own, is well ahead of time. In The Medical Journey of Aged Parents, David Solie provides some excellent information, straight from the American Geriatrics Society, about questions both medical personnel & patients/advocates should be asking about treatment for patients over 65. I strongly suggest reading through, printing out the questions, and keeping them in your medical information files.
The more you know, the more effective & confident you'll be with medical situations, large & small.
~ Deev ~
the well read daughter
No comments:
Post a Comment