Be Involved in Your Health Care
Ask questions• Make sure you understand the answers.
• Choose a doctor you feel comfortable talking to.
• Take a relative or friend with you to help you ask questions and understand the answers.
•Write questions down and take them with you to your appointment.
Keep a list of all the medicines you take
• Bring your list of medications to all your doctor appointments.
• Include prescriptions, over-the-counter medicines and dietary supplements such as vitamins and herbs.
• Tell your doctor and pharmacist about drug allergies.
• Ask about side effects and what to avoid while taking the medication.
• Read the label.Make sure you understand how to use it.
• Ask your pharmacist if the medicine looks different than you expected.
Get test results
• Ask when and how you will get results of tests or procedures.
• Don’t assume the results are fine if you do not get them when expected.
• Ask what the results mean.
Talk to your doctor about specialty care
• Ask your doctor to recommend specialists if needed
• Ask who/what specialist is best to see for your symptoms
Understand what will happen if you need surgery
• Ask who will manage your care while in the hospital.
• Tell the surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurses about allergies, reactions to anesthesia and medications you are taking.
• Make sure that you, your doctor and your surgeon all agree and are clear on exactly what will be done.
• Ask your surgeon how long it will take and what you should expect to feel during recovery.
• Make sure you understand instructions you get about follow-up care
when you leave the hospital.
*Adapted from the AHRQ
Publication No. 03-M007, Five
Steps to Safer Health Care, Patient
Fact Sheet and AHRQ Publication
NO.00-PO38, 20 Tips to Help
Prevent Medical Errors, Patient Fact Sheet.