Did you know that there is a hierarchy of hospitals?  Well there is.  It took me over a year to find this out.  Basically, a community hospital is not going to have the same information available to them as a University Hospital.  Our doctor at a local hospital does not even have the same access to information that a doctor at a university has.  This is a very important point because if you have a tricky situation that is not getting answered, do not accept that there is no answer.  It could just be that the answer will not be found at the hospital or clinic that you are currently in.

This subject is very large and is fully covered in a book titled YOU: The Smart Patient: An Insider’s Handbook for Getting the Best Treatment by Michael F. Roizen (Author), Mehmet C. Oz and available through http://www.amazon.com/YOU-Patient-Insiders-Handbook-Treatment/dp/0743293010#

Now that you have entered the medical world through your own disease or a loved ones, you are going to have to attain knowledge rapidly.  A life could depend upon it.

Questions

Never be afraid to ask questions.  It is the only way to learn.  Keep notes when you are getting answers because one question usually leads to another. Question all the staff at every opportunity.  Try to get acquainted with medical terminology so that you can actually understand what is being said. Knowledge is definitely power and power is enabling.

Doctors

When dealing with a serious illness the doctor/patient relationship is very important.  You have to feel comfortable with your doctor and the communication has to be on an equal playing field.  If you are not comfortable with your doctor on any level then go out and get a 2nd and 3rd opinion. Trust me these extra steps are worth it.

Hospitals

You can always do a search on the Internet about a hospital.  What I did was to get a long distance consultation with a prestigious facility and then I compared the consultation with a 2nd opinion that I got. It really helped me to hear two different hospitals offering the same treatment plan.  This alone gave me confidence to proceed.

Death Card

I am going to do a separate page on “The Death Card” which is a form of blackmail to scare you into compliance with a doctor.  Don’t ever be driven by fear. It is a low-down method of control.  We could face death tomorrow in a car accident or from a stomach flu.  Death or the spector of death is really a part of life.  It is part of living.  Never allow someone to control you through fear.  I have had the death card thrown in my face more than once with a doctor trying to get me to do something that I felt was dangerous to my daughter’s health.  This was the impetus in getting second and third opinions and let me tell you – it totally paid off.  Kayla and I are so much more comfortable with the doctor that we chose.  He is humble, caring and dilligent.  He is the first doctor that has ever called me on the weekend.  He never makes me feel like an idiot and the result is that our stress level has improved so much since we switched doctors.

You grab fear by the throat by taking action through learning!   Look the death card right in the face and get another opinion.  Keep going.  That is what this whole site is about, being proactive and courageous.

Deb