- Share This Post
- Pin It
- 0
- 3
-
Sparkle (2)
I have a friend who is a registered nurse and an attorney employed by a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) type of institution as a lawyer. However, she has been a women’s health advocate for many years. Her HMO recognizes that and has asked her to serve on a community panel with the goal to develop strategies to improve local health care services for women.
She recently asked me what I think excellence looks like when it comes to women’s healthcare. I immediately thought of my physicians. Yes, I said physicians in the plural because I have an OBGyn (now strictly gynecology, since I am long past any OB needed services!), an internist (fortunately nothing more serious than colds, occasional stomach aches and biannual physicals), a dermatologist (to tell me that the spots on my face aren’t cancer but the result of sun and age), and an orthopedic surgeon (yes, I am a baby boomer who used to jog and ruptured a disc 12 years ago. Old back injuries just keep on giving and not in a good way). Two are women and two are men. I think all are excellent practitioners. The question is why do I think that and what does that have to do with women’s health services in the general. Read on and I will share some thoughts of what I think constitutes excellent women’s health services:
Treats me like a person, not just a generic no-name patient: When I go to the doctor for a health care check-up or when I am ill, I want to be viewed as a total person. I am a mother, a grandmother, a wife, and a professional, vain, happy, in excellent health mostly, weigh more than I should or want, independent, menopausal and a health communicator. Actually, I am more than that, but the point being is that I not just a random person who comes into the office and then gets called the generic PATIENT. Even if it is a first visit, I want the physician and staff to call me by my name. I am not a stickler for first or last name, just want them to know my name and look me in the eye when we talk.
Has excellent credentials: We moved to our current location almost 4 years ago from a city and state my husband and I had lived in for all of our adult lives. Needless to say, we left behind trusted medical specialists, dentists, ophthalmologists and hair stylists, amongst other service providers. Before making new appointments, I checked out who were part of the network for my health insurance provider. Then, I googled the doctors I was considering to make certain that they were board certified in their fields and had gone to well-respected universities. It was also helpful to review local medial review sites to see what others thought about the doctors. Then, I made my appointments with the thought that if I didn’t feel comfortable with the doctor, I could change practices. So far, I really like my choices.
Asks me questions to clarify and explains treatment options: Years ago, I went to see a doctor because I was feeling really tired and worn out. At the time, my daughter was very young and active, I was working as a nurse on the afternoon or night shift, I was taking classes to earn my BSN in nursing and doing all of the other stuff that I enjoyed in the spare time that I had left. I told the doctor about all of my activities. In any case, the doctor took blood from me, which I assumed was to check to for anemia or something worse and prescribed a medication, which I hadn’t heard of before. He told me to take it for 2 months and then let him know how it was working. Before filling the prescription, I looked up the drug in the PDR (Physician’s Drug Reference). This was way before Internet! What I found was that the medication was an antidepressant. I couldn’t believe it! In hindsight, the doctor asked if I was depressed and I said something like NOT REALLY, but I do feel kind of down when I am so tired. In any case, I never filled the prescription, nor did I return to the doctor. He made a wrong assumption based on little information. While I don’t expect to sit in an office for hours, I do want to be told why the doctor prescribed as he
