5 essential steps to take responsibility for your health
It’s really important to take responsibility for your own healthcare, especially if you’ve recently been diagnosed with a chronic disease, or have started long term medication.
Here are the five most important things to remember:
- Follow your doctor’s advice – e.g. stopping smoking, managing weight
- Get informed about your condition. What is the diagnosis, current and previous? Google them all, and educate yourself
- Know your treatment options – its important to ask questions about this. Ask your GP or consultant:
- What are alternatives to the treatment you are recommending?
- What happens if I do nothing? Could my condition stabilise or even get better?
- What would you do if you were me?
- Contact details. What are your consultant’s names and how do you contact them. You need to know their secretary’s name, phone number and email address
- Know your medications and allergies.
Keep your own medical record summarising all of this information.
The more involved you are in your own care, the better your care will be. Doctors and nurses respond better to patients who help themselves!
