Healthy Living

Good communication with your primary care doctor or nurse practitioner may be the most important factor in getting good health care.

You want a doctor who will listen carefully to your concerns, answer your questions, and explain things clearly and fully.

Asking questions is key to good communication with your doctor. If you don’t ask questions, he or she may assume you already know the answers or just aren’t interested in getting more information.

But communication goes two ways; It’s very important to feel comfortable discussing your concerns, especially sensitive issues. It is critical not to keep secrets – your primary care provider needs to know your health habits like alcohol or tobacco use, signs of anxiety or depression, incontinence, memory problems, sexual risk factors and behaviors. It’s also in your best interest to be honest if you are adhering to your prescribed medication regimen or treatment.

Our next program in the Enjoy LIFE (Lifelong Investment in Fitness and Exercise) series is “Getting the Most Out of Your Doctor Visit” on Thursday, Jan. 19, from 6:30-8 p.m., at the Plainfield Recreation Center.

Dr. Ramindra Walia, Medical Director of United Community & Family Services (UCFS) based in Norwich and a member of the Backus Medical Staff, will discuss how to choose a primary care provider, why it’s important to have a “medical home” and how to talk to your doctor.

This program is free, but registration is required by calling 860-889-8331, ext. 6381.

An Access to Care specialist will be available to talk about obtaining health insurance. At a time when many people don’t have medical insurance and only seek care when they absolutely have to, Backus and UCFS have partnered to station these specialists in the hospital’s emergency department to reach to identify uninsured and under-insured patients and link them with government insurance programs and health centers like UCFS that will help them establish “medical homes.”

Full-fledged, patient-centered medical homes provide comprehensive primary care that encourages relationships between patients, physicians and families. This model has been endorsed by many of the nation’s largest primary care physician associations, including the American Academy of Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians and American Osteopathic Association.

In a nutshell, medical homes promote access to coordinated, personal, high quality and less costly care. For example, how many times have you ever been in a situation where you have had a test, but your doctor or the hospital doesn’t have access to it because it was performed somewhere else? Medical homes allow for patient information to be easily shared by providers, many times electronically.

As care becomes more coordinated and information is streamlined, patients have smoother transitions between hospitals, physicians and specialists. Communication increase, preventative health develops and overall health improves.

As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, this kind of preventative medicine will become increasingly important.

When people wait to seek healthcare until it is an emergency because they are without insurance or don’t want to pay a deductible, many times it is too late and their illness has progressed to the point where it is serious and possibly untreatable. Having a medical home can help patients lead healthier lifestyles, and prevent more serious illnesses.

It also lowers costs. We all lament how expensive healthcare is, and how insurance coverage is becoming increasingly cost prohibitive. One of the reasons is the fragmented nature of healthcare, and also the fact that people with insurance inevitably pay for those without it.

Those without insurance many times only seek emergency care, which hospitals must provide regardless of a person’s ability to pay. But emergency care is more expensive, and many times less effective. Clinicians in emergency room environments are great at what they do – treating emergent issues.

But some of the most important healthcare occurs before you ever get sick. This can only occur when there is a healthy, long-standing relationship between patients and their healthcare providers.

Alice Facente is a registered nurse and clinical educator at the The William W. Backus Hospital Education Department. This column should not replace advice or instruction from your personal physician. If you want to comment on this column or others, visit the Healthy Living blog at www.backushospital.org/backus-blogs or e-mail Ms. Facente or any of the Healthy Living columnists at healthyliving@wwbh.org