The Secret of Great Health Care
Get your Annual Exam The annual visit is a critical health care visit. It keeps the body running smoothing. It helps catch any disease that may be in its early stage. It also helps assure that disease is prevented properly. The annual visit evaluates your overall health status. Always be completely honest during your visit. Do not exaggerate or downplay symptoms. Don’t be embarrassed about discussing embarrassing issues such as weight, drug use or sexual history. If you are not completely honest with your doctor, you will get sub optimal health care. Patients who work well with their doctor get better health care. In order to work well with your doctor, you need to be prepared. If you are not prepared your visit will not be good. Being prepared means that you take some time before the visit to get ready. Being prepared for the annual visit means that you: If you want to improve your health care. Add these 9 books and the downloadable personal medical record to your cart and you will get access to this priceless product and start enjoying improved health care immediatly... CLICK HERE TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH Step 1: Get prepared
Not everyone needs an annual exam and many people need more than one exam by their health care provider each year.
Arrive early for your appointment and bring all necessary paperwork. If you maintain a personal medical record all the information you need to bring will be contained in this form. It is usually helpful if you can bring a loved one to help be an extra set of eyes and ears for the appointment.
Always speak honestly with the doctor. Never exaggerate or downplay the truth. The doctor cannot fully help you if he/she does not know your whole history.
Step 2: The personal medical record
As outlined in Improve Your Communication: How Talking Can Improve Health Care, maintaining the personal medical record is a cornerstone to good health care. This is your personal record that will allow you to track and report vital health care information.
An updated personal medial record will help assure that all of your health information is transmitted to your doctor.
Step 3: Prepare the annual form
The annual visit form a nice form that will allow you report critical information to the doctor. Report any changes that have occurred over the last year. This is especially important if you received health care in a different setting. For example, if you visited a retail clinic and was diagnosed with four ear infections, this needs to be reported to your doctor.
Report any symptoms that you might have to the doctor. You can use the annual visit form (as outlined in Improve Your Communication: How Talking Can Improve Health Care) to help you think through any problem you may be having. Complete the steps for using the annual form as outlined in the above book before your evaluation. Step 4: Report questions You will not remember all of the questions that you need to ask in the heat of the appointment. Before the appointment record a list of questions in order of importance. Bring two copies to your appointment, one for you and one for your doctor. Hand the doctor his copy of your questions at the beginning of the appointment and explain that you would like to get through these questions during the evaluation. Step 5: Know what preventative testing needs done Maintain the preventative health care worksheet (this will be explained in detail in chapter 5). Before the exam, know what testing you have had and when, record this on the preventive health care worksheet. Compare when your tests are done and what the guidelines are. If you fall out of the guidelines, make sure you ask your doctor about the test. Each annual visit should include an evaluation of: blood pressure, height and weight. Otherwise there is variation in the amount and type of testing that you need. Step 6: Immunizations The annual exam is a time to review all of the immunizations that you need to get done. This can be reviewed using the preventative health care worksheet. Details about immunizations will be outlined in chapter 6. Step 7: Review Medications Have the doctor review the medications you are taking to determine if they are still needed. If there is any follow up the doctor needs to do based on the medication make sure it is carried out. This is a time to ask multiple questions about all of your medications (See table 3).
Table 3: Questions to know about each medication
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Step 8: Have a system to capture information
Take notes during your visit. This can be accomplished with the annual visit health care form (outlined in Improve Your Communication: How Talking Can Improve Health Care). Some people are more comfortable having someone come with them to assure that they do not miss any information.
Step 9: Learn
If the doctor gives you new information learn as much as you can about it. The first step is to ask the doctor for any brochure or pamphlet about any condition, medication or procedure he/she is recommending.
Ask what diseases you are at risk for and ask for ways you can prevent or monitor for these conditions. Ask for patient information.
There are many reliable (and many unreliable) websites that can help give you information about information that your doctor gave you.
Step 10: Follow up
Fill any prescriptions that need to be filled. Take medicines as directed. Know what you need to do to monitor the prescriptions. Know when you need to call your doctor. Make sure you get a name of a person and a way to contact this person if you have a problem between appointments Don’t leave the appointment until you know when and with whom you need to follow up. Know exactly what you need to do to follow up on any recommendations made by the doctor.
Make sure you record what follow up is necessary. The annual visit form has a system to help you capture this information. Record when the doctor wants you to follow up. If you have a test make sure you know how to obtain results for this test.
