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[ 2018 Summit / Day 2 ] Rick Hecht talks about the social determinants of health include things like access to healthy food, clean drinking water, reliable transportation, access to good education, safe housing, employment opportunities, and access to good health care.
It’s important that your employees ask for information that will help them understand all decisions made about their care, including medical tests. Doctors order blood tests, x-rays, and other tests to help diagnose medical problems, but perhaps an employee does not know why they need a particular test or they don’t understand how it will help them. Help your employees be better medical consumers.
Patient safety is one of the nation’s most pressing health care challenges. A 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine estimates that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of lapses in patient safety, and more recent studies have determined that this number has grown drastically. Help your employees get the safest care possible by letting them know how they can be proactive during a health care visit.
Take Charge of Your Health is an incentive campaign from WELCOA and TAVi Health designed to help you jumpstart your employees into Phase I of a self-care initiative. This well-organized ‘Collect & Contact’ campaign includes engaging activities that will encourage your employees to compile their personal health information in a safe place and secure or establish a relationship with a primary care provider.
Getting quality health care can help you stay healthy and recover faster when you become sick. However, we know that often, people do not get high quality care. A 2004 study of 12 large U.S. communities found that just over half (54.9 percent) of people were receiving the care they needed.
You can help your employees get the best results from their health care visits by encouraging them to be active members of their “health care team.” Communicate to your employees what a health care team is: the patient receiving care, the doctor, any nurses or physician’s staff who coordinate care or prescribe medicine, and the pharmacist who fills prescriptions and can answer questions about those medicines.
In addition to being part of a health care team, often your employees will need to speak openly with their doctors. This is not always a comfortable situation or an easy undertaking, as your employees may be intimidated or nervous about speaking up. Research has shown that patients who have good relationships with their doctors tend to be more satisfied with their care—and have better results.
Most operations are not emergencies and are considered elective surgery. This means that you have time to learn about your operation beforehand to be sure it is the best treatment for you. When a doctor recommends surgery as a treatment option, patients will need to understand all the risks and benefits, and know all options available to them. Armed with the right information, your employees can get the safest care possible and avoid complications or medical errors.
You probably have many questions about your disease or condition. The first person to ask is your doctor.It is fine to seek more information from other sources; in fact, it is important to do so. But consider your doctor your partner in health care—someone who can discuss your situation with you, explain your options, and help you make decisions that are right for you. It is not always easy to feel comfortable around doctors.But research has shown that good communication with your doctor can actually be good for your health.
Many Americans receive care from doctors in many places. In this mobile society your employees will change towns, change doctors, even change jobs and health insurers. That’s why it’s so important to let your employees know that their medical charts and other health information don’t automatically appear at different doctors’ offices or hospitals. Don’t let your employees make the mistake of assuming their doctor has all the relevant information at his or her fingertips because usually, in fact, the doctor does not.
