4 Ways To Advocate For Senior Loved One With Their Doctor
Elder Care: When you are a family caregiver for a senior loved one you may need to become their advocate too.
An elder care provider can help your senior loved one around the house and make sure that they have what they need at home. But you will need to make sure that they are getting the medical care they need from their doctor. And that means you will need to be prepared for every appointment and be willing to ask hard questions and be persistent when necessary.
Elder Care in Deerfield IL: Doctor Visit Tips
In order to make sure that your senior loved one is getting the best medical care from their doctors you should advocate for them by:
Have Questions Ready
Usually, when your senior loved one has a medical appointment you will have a limited amount of time with the doctor. It will help immensely if you have a written list of questions that you want to ask the doctor at the appointment. Writing down the questions in advance will give you the time to really think about what you want to ask so that you don’t forget anything. And you won’t have to worry about forgetting any of the questions when you see the doctor if you have a written list ready to go at the appointment. You may even want to give a copy of the questions to the nurse ahead of time so that the doctor will know what you want to ask.
Record The Appointment
It’s very easy to forget details of what the doctor says. You may miss important information while you are trying to write notes or get your senior loved one ready to go after the appointment. That’s why you should be recording the appointment. When the doctor comes in turn on the audio recorder or the video camera on your phone and let it run through the rest of the appointment. That way you can refer to it later when you have time to think more clearly about everything that was said in the appointment. And then you also have a record of what the doctor said in case you need to prove what you were told later on.
Double And Triple Verify Everything
If your senior loved one is prescribed a new medication or told to see a new provider for a new concern double and triple-check that the prescription is accurate and that the new provider will be covered by your senior loved one’s insurance. Any details that you are given should always be verified with the doctor’s staff as well as with the doctor to make sure that they are correct. Everyone makes mistakes, and you don’t want your senior loved one to get a wrong dose of something because of a mistake.
Elder Care: Keep Detailed Records
Keeping records is tedious but detailed medical records, especially detailed medication records, are essential to keep your senior loved one in good health. An elder care provider can help you track your senior’s medications and make sure that they are getting all of the medications that they should have.
If you or an aging loved-one are considering hiring Elder Care in Deerfield, IL, call the caring staff at LifeCare Home Health & In-Home Services. Call (888) 606-4199 LifeCare serves all of the Chicago Metro Area.
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