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FAQ’S — Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why is it so important to keep track of one's medical records?

Good records help you receive better care, document your insurance claims and validate your tax information. In addition to these important benefits…

It’s your body; it’s your life. Why wouldn’t you keep track?

Doctor visits are 7 minutes on average. Because a doctor’s time with each patient is limited, when the patient provides concise and accurate information the visit is much more productive.

Now that group practice is the norm, having a backup record makes sense.
In a typical practice there are 15 to 60 medical personnel involved. It’s usually necessary to schedule appointments way ahead to make sure you see your own doctor. With thousands of patients to care for in a group practice, things can sometimes fall through the cracks.

Doctor Visit Stress Most people feel it. Often you’re being asked for specific information at the worst time. If it’s a routine visit there’s still tension, but if there is a serious problem, it’s even more emotional. The smartest and brightest can’t always think straight.

Doctor-Patient Partnership Having good medical records helps you to play a strong role in this relationship. You can use your records to make sure you know, not just think you know. Your doctor has many patients, a complicated record keeping system, and a need to control errors. He will appreciate it if you double check.

Be prepared with a complete set of records. Why? In case you have to change doctors or get a second opinion. Most of all, you’ll be ready in case of an EMERGENCY. In a disaster such as Katrina, you could wind up having the only copy of your medical information (Laura’s sister did!)

Finally, just to make sure! After all, you’re usually dealing with routine medical matters, but
there will also be more serious concerns:
• multiple medications
• blood work and test results
• emergencies, accidents, injuries
• hospitalizations, surgeries
• severe illnesses like diabetes, cancer, heart disease
• chronic conditions like allergies and hypertension

Almost 100,000 people die each year of medical errors. Patients and their families are often the ones who notice errors first. Your personal record, kept in your Red Notebook, will give you the facts to muster the courage to speak up. The medical staff will be grateful, especially if it helps avoid a costly or deadly mistake.

2. What information should be stored?

• Emergency numbers,
• Your ongoing health log,
• A list of your adult immunizations,
• Results of your last doctor visit –
• The list goes on…

START WITH THE FACT QUESTIONS: Who, what, when, where, how and why?
Who is my primary physician. What is wrong with my left eye? When did I last see my dentist? Where did I put that prescription? How do I get to the lab? Why is he asking me to take this test again? How long have I had trouble driving at night?

It’s not surprising the hardest fact question to recall from memory is When?
When did I have my last surgery?
When was the last time I had my cholesterol checked? What were my numbers then?
When was my last tetanus shot?

3. What are some of the tips you have to help get organized?

Calendar and Address Book Use your regular calendar to record all medical events and use your address book to keep the numbers for all medical personnel. To help them stand out, we put a red star in front of each medical entry in both our calendar and address books.

Red Notebook It’s important to be prepared. Everyone needs medical assistance at some point so why not be proactive about it. Get a red 3-ring binder. Choose the 15 or 20 most relevant charts and make copies to put into your personal Red Notebook. Tape an Emergency Form to the inside front cover. Remember the rule for any Red Notebook you set up – for yourself or someone else – only keep what is significant
.
The beauty of the Red Notebook is it’s so easy to maintain and so easy to retrieve information from it. It’s impossible to be long-winded because you want to keep it light so you can take it to the doctor’s office or on vacation, but most important you want to grab it in case of an emergency.

4. What are common mistakes people make in keeping medical records - things they forget or omit that are really important?

Too much information! The number one mistake people make is that they think because they keep everything they’re keeping good medical records. If it really is everything then it’s probably all over the place or overflowing a box or drawer, all heaped up with completed items mixed in with pending items. Even if you can put your hands on a needed report, it’s unlikely anyone else can find it. In case of an emergency your information needs to be organized, accurate, up-todate and concise - so someone else can find it easily.

Computer The second most common mistake is that people who keep everything on the computer tend to feel they’ve got it covered. However, experience has shown that it is extremely difficult if not impossible for someone else to access the needed information, even if you manage to direct them to your personal computer and share your pass code.

5. Your book also provides information on how to select the best physician for your needs. What are some of your tips?

Eavesdrop. Be nosy. If you see someone whose hair looks great you feel comfortable asking,
“Who’s your hairdresser?” A good time to create your best doctors list is before you need a specialist or a new primary physician. Make a note when you hear a doctor being praised either for skill or bedside manner – they’re both important. The logical place to make note of their names is directly into your address book.
In our book we offer a list of things you’ll want to know about a doctor before you decide to “choose him or her.” You can find out a lot by just calling the office, but try to pick a time when they’re not too busy.

First question: Is the doctor or the practice accepting new patients? If yes, when is a good time to call and talk with someone about becoming a new patient. Be prepared with questions concerning credentials, training, and experience. Ask about their practice in an emergency? Is there a fee schedule? Get details of insurance cooperation. Hospital affiliation? Will you be given copies of all hospitalization summaries and test results? Is this a “boutique” practice (yearly fee)? Our book has a complete list of questions to ask when interviewing a new physician.

6. Insurance is a major influence in health care. What basic information should a person keep?

First, if there is a major medical incident, grab a 3-ring, spiral notebook (Lillian uses red, of course) and write down anything significant as it happens. Otherwise, trust us, you will miss things. In addition to important items, names, events, also keep trivial things (who visited, what was served for lunch) as these help to anchor important happenings.

Keep the fact questions in mind (who, what, when, where, how, why) as you carefully track:

Co-pays
Deductibles
Number of visits you’re allowed
Referrals and expiration date of referrals
Names/addresses of doctors, hospitals, labs, etc.
Costs regarding medicine, lab work, tests
Totals for each category for income tax purposes
Telephone logs – crucial to get the name of the person you talked with and to make note of the specific information you received. It’s OK to ask them to repeat.

The key to health insurance is to make sure you understand it. Keep asking until you do.

Know what’s NOT covered. We all know of people, who when suddenly faced with a critical medical condition, find that it is one of the illnesses their insurance does not cover. If you’re not clear, make sure someone easily accessible to you truly understands your insurance coverage. It is so important and makes the difference between receiving excellent rather than merely adequate
health care.

HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996
HIPAA – the omnipresent privacy laws – regulate your access to information about anyone, even those you would normally assume you could know about – your sister, your mother, your spouse. Be warned – you cannot get past HIPPA regulations unless you have it in writing!

7. What are Advance Directives and Powers of Attorney? Why are they needed?

An Advanced Directive allows you to make known your very specific wishes should you become incapacitated. If you get caught without it, someone else will be making decisions about the care you will receive. Most of us would rather it be someone we selected. One of the most important and most useful advance directives is do not resusitate.

A Power of Attorney lets someone you trust act on your behalf where legal matters are concerned. Again, it’s a person of your choice, and, should you be incapacitated, it is absolutely essential if you want your wishes carried out.

Patient’s Rights All hospitals have this list and give it to new patients. Read it and be clear what you can expect. It’s smart to get this ahead of time and keep it in your Red Notebook.

8. Your book also has a substantial section devoted to keeping healthy which is excellent. How do you relate that section to the record keeping part of the book?

You’re referring to the sections on Stress, Exercise and Nutrition: We included these sections
because we realize how basic they are to keeping healthy on an every day basis.
We also included charts in those sections to help people track their efforts to get the best results
from:
• actively reducing stress
• exercising on a regular basis
• monitoring their diets by focusing on making the best choice available —
day by day, meal by meal, and item by item.

9. What are some of your suggestions for decreasing stress?

#1. Breathing, breathing, breathing. It sounds so obvious, but it’s something you can do anytime because you are already breathing. If you breathe in deeply through your mouth and breathe out slowly through your nose, and do it slowly and deeply 5 times, you will find that you’re not nervous, even when you start to give a speech. Try it. Apparently it is impossible to do this focused breathing 5 times and still have tension. Something physical happens.

#2. Exercise, exercise, exercise. A gym 3 times a week. A 30 minute walk every day. A
bicycle ride. It seems if you do it on a regular basis, you become stronger and more fit and feel younger. All of these things help combat stress. People worry they don’t have the time, but it’s a fact that you are more focused and efficient when you exercise regularly.

10. You have a substantial list of further resources in your book. Why is this section so important?

We have a Books Section and an Internet Section for some of our favorites.

Medical Resource Books get better and more numerous each year. We’ve included all our favorites. We hope our list will inspire our readers to create their own home medical library. We suggest you pay attention to your initial reaction to a book. You’re more likely to use it if it catches your fancy.

Medical Web Sites hold enormous amounts of information, however the sheer volume can be overwhelming. It’s important to question the reliability of any site and make sure it’s a site you can trust. An org at the end of an address stands for organization and is usually non-profit. Gov is for government. Uni is for a university or educational institution. Com is for commercial or business. It doesn’t mean they don’t provide good information but you need to know the identity of a site’s sponsor or owner so you can determine if the real purpose of the site is to publicize or sell medications or products.

11. How do doctors react when their patients become more informed?

Doctors already rely on their patients to give an up close and personal knowledge of their own bodies. When patients listen, follow instructions, ask when they’re unclear, give details the doctor might not see at first glance, and generally act as a competent equal, it is of great benefit to the doctor.

12. What does a strong doctor-patient partnership look like?

Health is serious business. Both the doctor and the patient are interested in the same thing – the best possible health of the patient over time. They both have crucial knowledge and both bring questions and also answers to the process. Mutual respect and appreciation allow both of them to focus on the current and important aspects of the patient’s health.

11. Is there anything you would like to add?

Knowledge is power. And remember…

Everything you are is stored in your body. Who’s minding the store?