This is Part II of the Florida Lung, Asthma and Sleep Specialists’ blog coverage concerning patient centered care and medication errors. Here at FLASS in Orlando, we strongly advise our patients to be active partners in their treatment and recovery.
Before continuing with this article, we hope you read or review our Part One, in which we gave you our definition of patient-centered care, involving your rights and responsibilities as a patient.
In his recent article in CMD Magazine, Spring-Summer Issue 2015, entitled Patient Responsibility in the Prevention of Medical Errors, FLASS founder, Dr. Fortune Alabi, MD, FCCP, MBA, gave patients instructions to help them aid in their own care and avoid medication errors.
See Part I for the first five quiz questions and key answers to help you learn to be your own patient advocate, whether you are dealing with lung disease or other illnesses.
We now proceed with your next set of patient-centered quiz questions.
6. Do you make sure you understand instructions? Dr. Alabi says, “Review the care plan given to you at your doctor’s office to ensure accuracy of the medication list and problem list generated.”
7. Do you do your due Diligence about your medical history? Dr. Alabi notes “Make sure your doctor knows about any allergies and adverse reactions you have had to medicine.”
8. Could you involve a friend or relative? The patient-centered advice Dr. Alabi gives is for you to “Go to your appointment with family members if you have problem with memory loss.”
Even if you do not have a diagnosed memory loss, it’s a good idea to have the support and feedback of a friend who is aware of your healthcare situation.
9. Did you check on previous medical tests? Dr. Alabi states, “Know that more is not always better. Always check if all the requested tests are necessary.”
10. Can you read or research a little about your condition? “Learn more about your condition and treatments so that you can ask useful questions during your visits.”
The second part of this is very important. Formulating questions for your doctor during your visit saves time and keeps you focused. You can even write them down, as we said in Part I, as one of your preparations for good communication with your doctor.
11. Will you speak up? It takes practice to be an engaged patient instead of a docile one. Dr. Alabi states, “Most importantly, speak out if you have questions or concerns.”
Modern Health Care and Communication
At FLASS, we are aware that in this age of managed care, doctors see more patients in a short amounts of time. Sometimes it might seem that you paperwork and procedures get more attention than the patients. Experts say that one on one communication between doctor and patient seems “to be on the verge of evaporating.”
They add, “Escalating pressures on the physician and the medical staff increase as health care approval agencies mandate more paperwork and justification for procedures. From the patients’
perspective, care has become centered, not on the needs of patients, but around the needs of the system itself.”
Our Special, Patient Centered Mission
At FLASS, we assure you that this is not the case; our staff and physicians are patient-centered, and we seek to administer care with dignity and respect, augmented by open communication.
While accomplishing this goal, we have discovered that patients can also help the medical profession to curb medication errors.
“Medication errors are a type of medical error, involving an error at any step along the pathway that begins when a clinician prescribes a medication and ends when the patient actually receives the medication. Patients have the ability to drastically reduce this type of medical error by becoming advocates in their care.” www.cmdmagazine.com
Read our reprint of Dr. Alabi’s article here.