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You Deserve Optimum Healthcare

How the System Works

By Carolann SherwoodPublished 6 years ago 16 min read
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pixabay.comKnow how the medical system works To understand your medical healthcare options.

  • Gone are the days the traditional doctor took care of every facet of your health care. Primary doctors, no longer carry an array of expertise to care for all the diagnoses they give you.
  • Gone are the days your doctor came to your home to make house calls. They no longer have time to do this.
  • Gone are the days when the hospital admits you for any reason and your family doctor visits you in the hospital every day. These days, when the hospital admits you, the hospital assigns a Hospitalist to care for you for the duration you are in the hospital. This Hospitalist talks with your family doctor every day to report your condition and findings. Your family doctor still has a say in your care.

After a visit one evening in the emergency room a few years ago, the hospital admitted me. The emergency room doctor informed me they assigned a Hospitalist to me to take care of me while in the hospital.

I never heard of a Hospitalist and did not know what this person did. I did not know if they were a medical doctor or what was going on. This concept was all new to me.

I learned that the medical profession has a new system in place. It benefits you to know how this system works.

First, you must realize that you are in charge of your healthcare, and unless you want strangers to make medical decisions for you, you must take this responsibility.

If you are in a position where you cannot make these medical decisions, it is vital for you to have an Advanced Directive in place.

An Advanced Directive names who you want to make these decisions for you if and when you cannot. When you have no Advanced Directive in place the hospital may decide medical choices for you and it may not be in your best interest or what you would want.

I will write an article later on Advanced Directives.

I Am The CEO Of My Healthcare

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I take control of my health care

with the assistance of my doctor (s.)

The CEO of my healthcare is me, and I work alongside my Assistant CEO, my primary care physician to provide me with the best healthcare I can attain.

In the 21st Century and going forward you need a team of healthcare specialists to assure you receive optimum health care benefits. I learned that the medical profession has a new system in place. It benefits you to know how the system works.

I will never give any medical professional complete control of my health. My doctor and I talk over issues and I my choices are mine alone. Yes, I do take into consideration what my doctor recommends. However, in the end, I decide what I want to do based on common sense and logic, not what my doctor wants me to do. In my thinking, this is how I take charge of my healthcare.

Your primary doctor is the first go-to health professional for you. If conditions arise, this primary doctor sends you to a specialized doctor of your choice. Your doctor most likely recommends a specialist but, these referrals begin with your primary care doctor. You may have a team of several doctors, depending upon your diagnosis.

Take Charge of Your Health

I have written several health articles in regards to the necessity of you taking control of your family and your health and wellness. I always believed that my doctor does not have the final say in anything about my family or me.

Of course, I highly value my primary doctor's recommendations and take them seriously. However, if I do not agree with him, I will tell him, and we talk about how I feel. He may or may not agree with me. If he feels strongly about an issue, he will attempt to persuade me to see his point.

Years ago all you had was your family doctor. This traditional family doctor took care of everything having to do with your health issues. In this 21st century and moving forward, your ideal health care makes up a team of doctors depending on what is going on with you, to provide optimum health care.

This concept is forever changing. Nurses are now pressured to get a higher education to the level of Nurse Practitioner who can diagnose and write out prescriptions for you. The Nurse Practitioner is taking the place of many doctors. I feel this is due to a continued doctor shortage.

An Example of a Medical Health Care Management Team

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You are the CEO

Your primary doctor is the assistant CEO

Your Primary Doctor

This doctor sets at the center with you on all healthcare matters. It is your primary doctor who refers you to any specialists you may need. It is your primary doctor who calls the shots with you and your specialists.

For example, your primary doctor says you have diabetes, an unhealing wound, you have COPD, and you are overweight. Your primary doctor and a team of specialists may include the following.

  • Diabetes, Endocrine Specialist
  • Lung issues, Pulmonary Specialist
  • Diabetic ulcer, Wound care specialist
  • Obese, Certified Dietary Consultant

The Primary Doctor

This doctor keeps tabs on you, the patient and refers you to any specialists needed to treat a specific diagnosis out of the expertise of this chief doctor.

While any specialist orders medications and tests to confirm your diagnosis, the primary doctor stays in close contact with each specialist and has his or her say in the course of specialized treatment for you.

The Diabetic Doctor

This physician is thoroughly educated in the care and monitoring of the diabetic patient due to the specific diabetic diagnosis. The only thing this specialist hones in on is blood glucose levels and hypoglycemic agents to keep the blood sugar in normal range.

This doctor prescribes insulin when needed and watches your insulin levels, ready to readjust the insulin dosage. This doctor monitors your skin condition because diabetics are prone towards skin breakdown.

The Pulmonologist

This doctor treats your lung issues. This doctor monitors chest x-rays, the effectiveness of medications, inhalers, colds, lung infections and breathing treatments.

A Wound Care Specialist

This doctor or Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical Nurse who has had continued education in wound care and certified in wound care monitors the healing of your diabetic ulcer under the direction of your doctors.

Nutritionist or Dietician

This professional has a Master's Degree in nutrition and will work with you, the patient in regards to formulating a strict diabetic diet and a diet to decrease your weight and arrive within a suitable body weight range for you.

Keeping your weight within a more normal body weight range also helps in reducing blood glucose levels, thus decreasing the amount of insulin and oral medications.

Lastly...

I believe that you, the patient, is guided by your health care team for optimum personal health and well-being. However, I also think that you remain in a similar position such as the CEO of any company.

You have the right to negotiate your health care and say, "No" to treatment or medication you do not want. Sometimes a "No" is not the most helpful answer to your healthcare, and the doctor must persuade you to take the right path for your benefit.

I believe that you, the patient, sits in the driver's seat and you need to consider all recommendations from your team of healthcare providers. I think that you have the ability and right to negotiate your care of these medical professionals.

You need to write all of your questions down and be ready for the doctor. The doctor needs to respect your rights and privilege to ask questions. Your doctor is obligated to give you logical and clear answers to your questions. You have the right to expect the doctor to take time with you, not brush you off, or consider your questions stupid or beneath their dignity to discuss.

Your time is valuable. Your doctor's time is valuable. Never waste your doctor's time with unnecessary jibberish.

A Personal Story

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What is Wrong with You Robbie?

The following is a true story and an excellent example of what I talked about thus far.

At the time, Robbie an 18-month old boy and my grandson were fortunate to have his mother, my daughter in the driver's seat advocating this child's health care. Currently, Robbie is a happy and active seven-year-old, although not without health care problems, he is doing well.

Q. Something is not right with Robbie, but what?

Q. What is wrong with Robbie and what is wrong with Robbie's Doctor?

My daughter received her Licensed Practical Nurse Certification a few years ago, and she is currently working on her Registered Nursing Degree, with a specialty in wound care.

I must say that my daughter is an example of a walking wealth of wisdom and smarts. I do not say this because she is my daughter, but because this woman is intelligent and level-headed.

When she comes across something of real importance about her children, she will bite into this like a Pit Bull and will not let go to until the doctor hears her out. She sits at the controls of advocacy for health care for her children and her husband.

Her little fellow from the time he was born had diarrhea type stools. Up until the age of 18-months, he experienced five to six loose stools every day. He turned four years of age in September 2014 and was still in a diaper. She tried numerous approaches to get him to potty train without avail.

During the better part of three and a half years, my daughter discovered that Robbie might be allergic to insect bites. Every time he gets bitten by a mosquito or any insect, this area of skin turns into cellulitis, sending him to the doctor's office or a hospital emergency room.

Robbie is a magnet for insect bites. I have never seen insects drawn to a little boy like they are to Robbie. I told my daughter that perhaps Robbie has something in his blood that attracts insects.

This child never gets just one bite; bugs bite him over and over. She tried insect repellants, insect bracelets, long sleeves, and pants, even on warm days and nothing worked.

One day my daughter called me and said,

"Mom, you will be watching Robbie today, for me and I do not want you to be shocked by what you see. He has scabs and bites covering his body. I do not know what is causing this and I am trying to figure this out."

When she got him to me, I was every bit shocked to see draining and scabbed sores over most of his body. I told her I believed he had impetigo from the mosquito bites and he needed medical attention right away. We got him to the doctor, and the diagnosis was correct. He had developed impetigo.

The doctor started him on yet another antibiotic (again). In three short years, I cannot count the number of times this child had been ordered antibiotics.

I believed that part of his loose stools was due to so many antibiotics and the antibiotics damaged the intestinal flora which in turn caused diarrhea. This loss of intestinal flora can happen to anyone when they take too many antibiotics.

We began giving Robbie one to two yogurts every day to help rebuild the healthy intestinal flora but this only was slightly successful.

Robbie also had a bald spot on the top of his head in which she was treating ringworm? He was on this cream for over a year and then all of a sudden he started growing his hair back, and the bald spot eventually covered over.

Before Robbie turned four years of age, he had gone through four bouts of Pneumonia and was on breathing treatments. One thing my daughter did notice was that milk increased diarrhea so she put both kids on Soy Milk and this helped to a small degree.

Her primary doctor sent Robbie for allergy testing, and he passed with excellence. He did not overreact to anything, and my daughter found out that Robbie could tolerate milk and milk sugar and he was not allergic to any dairy. I might add that Robbie's allergy doctor was also an immunologist.

On the last visit to Robbie's allergist, this is what this doctor whose specialties were allergies and immunodeficiency illnesses, said to my daughter:

"Well, this child certainly has something wrong at the cellular level, but I do not know what is wrong with him."

While speaking to her he threw his arms into the air and said, "It is just one of those things, we may never know."

The Doctor's Final Comment

"Well, I know it is a cellular issue, but this is all I know, I know nothing else."

This doctor did not offer to refer Robbie anywhere or even pursue the issue. My daughter and I were upset at this point and thought, "What good is this specialist?"

An Angel in Disguise

It was a few weeks after this last appointment with the allergist/immunologist doctor that Robbie woke up one morning and stated that his back hurt.

Sometime during the week, she noticed that when Robbie was standing or walking his right shoulder was slightly lower than the left shoulder, and Robbie continued to complain of back pain at intervals.

She took the child back to their primary doctor who then referred Robbie to a well-known child chiropractor. On Robbie's first visit, the doctor commented to my daughter that Robbie was in a lot of pain and began his exam.

What this Doctor Found was Shocking!

Robbie's complete skeletal frame was out of alignment. The doctor worked for an hour on Robbie pressing bones and vertebrae back into place from his neck to his feet. This treatment did not hurt Robbie at all.

My daughter said that Robbie looked like he was enjoying his treatment. When a child carries a smile on their face during therapy, he is not in any pain.

The doctor said that this does not happen frequently, but it does happen. The doctor's thought was that when Robbie was in the birthing process, the doctor must have turned Robbie by the neck or shoulders to deliver him, and this is when Robbie's skeletal system went array.

My daughter told the doctor that she had been working with potty training, but Robbie was not about to be potty trained.

This doctor took the time to explain the following to my daughter.

"When the skeletal frame is so much out of alignment the bones press on all of the nerves. Robbie's bones are pressing on the nerves in the bladder and colon. You cannot potty train him to use the potty because he has no urges to eliminate, and he cannot control his bowels or his bladder. Robbie's skeletal system is so out of alignment this is affecting all of his vital organs and how they function!"

The amazing thing is, by the end of that weekend Robbie was potty trained in two days and has been in big boy undies ever since. Robbie is no longer having back pain. Also, if you know Robbie at all you can tell the difference, as his back is as straight as an arrow since this angel of a doctor treated him. All symptoms Robbie had were starting to decrease, week by week. Robbie slowly began to improve overall.

It Took a Persistent Mother

Q. "Why did not the doctors find that a child was in pain or something was wrong from the get-go?"

Q. "Why did not the doctors, catch this?"

Often we all put too much stock into letting the doctors lead our health care, when in fact we need to be the ones who are ever vigilant and leading the doctors onto the right path.

Since my daughter and I have good medical backgrounds, we even missed the mark on this one; however, my daughter persisted and is continuing. I am proud of her "Pit Bull" persistence.

This idea of taking control of healthcare is what everyone must do. If you do not have a medical background, then do some self-educating, reading, and become informed as much as you can about your diagnoses and the medications you take. Ask questions and demand decent answers!

Even those of us with medical backgrounds must continue to read and research because the medical field is ever-changing.

I wonder all the time about people who are fighting the same kind of medical care battles and do not have any medical knowledge at all, how do these people survive. I am sure many people do not question their doctors and give the doctors the last say because they know no different.

Where would Robbie be if my daughter took all that the immunologist had to say to heart? That is a scary thought. I do not think that I am too hard on Robbie's doctors, after all, we are talking about a little boy who has probably been in pain all his short life, unbeknown to us. We are talking about all the crap he has gone through in his short life and our hearts ache.

Education is Power

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Read and research your diagnoses, medications, and side effects.

Let your doctor know you are an informed patient.

Learn all you can about your health issues, be prepared to shock your doctor when he hears you speak and you are so well-informed. Read and research your diagnoses, medications, treatment options, and side effects.

My daughter's research on Robbie continued over the summer months until she felt she struck pay dirt. She found a cellular diagnosis that fit Robbie to a tee. The condition is rare, and there are only 59 children in the United States diagnosed with this condition. Was She right about this or wrong? She needed and yearned for some answers.

She made another appointment with the immunologist to place all of her findings in his hands, only to have this doctor tell her, that he did not feel this was the problem. This doctor went on to say that he was not familiar with this cellular issue.

It was at this moment when my daughter threw her hands in the air and asked for a consult at the University of Michigan, immunology department, where she might get some expert answers and this doctor refused her request.

Right or wrong my daughter was determined to find answers for the benefit of Robbie and remain proactive in her family's health.

2016 Brings New Hope

Approximately two years ago, my daughter found another doctor expert in childhood allergies. This doctor did not think Robbie had IRAK-4.

This doctor said that she could send Robbie for testing but strongly felt that this was not his problem. It was up to my daughter to decide. My daughter liked and trusted this new doctor so put any further testing on the back burner.

This doctor did find that Robbie suffered from a lot of different allergies and had uncontrolled asthma. This doctor keeps a close eye on Robbie, and so far he is improving more every year on his current treatment plan.

My daughter continues to monitor any bites and treat them accordingly. Robbies visits his buddy, the child chiropractor. This doctor continues to see and treat Robbie and continues to do a world of good for him.

Robbie tells his mother when he starts having back pain and she makes an appointment immediately. This doctor is very involved in Robbie's case and offers a lot of information and help. This doctor keeps this child's skeletal frame in alignment and hopes soring for the future.

My grandson's story only reconfirmed the fact that I must continue to remain the CEO of my healthcare.

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About the Creator

Carolann Sherwood

Professional nurse for over 40 years

Owned a children's daycare, eight years

Owned an upper scale clothing resale shop

A freelance writer

Editor since 2010 on a writing platform site

A published author, "Return To The Past" available on Amazon

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