Five Steps to
Safer Health Care
August 2000
- Speak up if you have questions
or concerns. Choose a
doctor who you feel comfortable talking to about your health and treatment.
Take a relative or friend with you if this will help you ask questions and
understand the answers. It's okay to ask questions and to expect answers you
can understand.
- Keep a list of all the medicines
you take. Tell your doctor and pharmacist about the medicines that you
take, including over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and
dietary supplements like vitamins and herbals. Tell them about any drug allergies
you have. Ask the pharmacist about side effects and what foods or other things
to avoid while taking the medicine. When you get your medicine, read the label,
including warnings. Make sure it is what your doctor ordered, and you know
how to use it. If the medicine looks different than you expected, ask the
pharmacist about it.
- Make sure you get the results
of any test or procedure. Ask your doctor or nurse when and how you will
get the results of tests or procedures. If you do not get them when expected
-- in person, on the phone, or in the mail � don�t assume the results are
fine. Call your doctor and ask for them. Ask what the results mean for your
care.
- Talk with your doctor and health
care team about your options if you need hospital care. If you have more
than one hospital to choose from, ask your doctor which one has the best care
and results for your condition. Hospitals do a good job of treating a wide
range of problems. However, for some procedures (such as heart bypass surgery),
research shows results often are better at hospitals doing a lot of these
procedures. Also, before you leave the hospital, be sure to ask about follow-up
care, and be sure you understand the instructions.
- Make sure you understand what
will happen if you need surgery. Ask your doctor and surgeon: Who will
take charge of my care while I'm in the hospital? Exactly what will you be
doing? How long will it take? What will happen after the surgery? How can
I expect to feel during recovery? Tell the surgeon, anesthesiologist, and
nurses if you have allergies or have ever had a bad reaction to anesthesia.
Make sure you, your doctor, and your surgeon all agree on exactly what will
be done during the operation.
"Five Steps
to Safer Health Care", was developed by the Patient and Consumer Information
Working Group, a subcommittee of the Quality Interagency Coordination (QuIC)
Task Force http://www.quic.gov/, of which
FDA is a member.