How To Be Your Best Advocate When Receiving Medical Care

 

Attorney Joseph Taraska has been practicing Health Law for over four decades. During the first portion of his career, Mr. Taraska served as a Forensic Medical Consultant for the United States Air Force and subsequently represented health care providers and medical facilities in state and federal Civil Courts. For the last 20 years, he has represented individuals who were hurt as a result of the care they received from providers and defective health care products. This diversity of experience has given Attorney Joseph Taraska the rare opportunity to understand our health care system, how it might be improved, and most importantly how each person can be their own best advocate.

Attorney joseph Taraska in this interview explains how individuals receiving health care can work with their provider and help protect themselves from medical errors and defective products.Throughout his career, Mr. Joe Taraska has found that the great majority of health providers perform in an excellent manner and deserve our trust. However, he notes that even well-trained providers are human and humans make mistakes on occasion. With this in mind, every individual can take several easy steps to help their providers and ensure the care they receive is appropriate.

First Attorney Joseph Taraska has found that when an individual is receiving care their focus on what is being told to them may not be as sharp as otherwise.  This is natural in that stress accompanies all ailments.  The best way to solve this difficulty is to have an advocate with you when you visit your provider or when he visits you during a hospitalization.  A family member or close friend best serves this role as they are usually well acquainted with your condition.  They can listen, add information you may have forgotten, and most importantly remind you after the visit of what was said.  In addition, you have probably found yourself after a meeting wishing you had asked certain questions but forgot them. Solve this by writing down your questions and concerns before each meeting and taking your list into the meeting.   

Secondly, you should review your own medical records while you are receiving care or have your advocate review them for you.  Joseph Taraska suggests that this can easily be accomplished in this technological age.  Most health care facilities and doctors’ offices offer a free patient portal.  You can use this to access your record and confirm that the information contained in the record is correct and ensure you understand the course of therapy.  National labs such as Quest and Lab Corp also have portals through which you can review your lab results. This is often followed by an explanation as to the meaning of each result. If concerned this should be brought to the attention of your physician. Do not assume that they have reviewed every lab—or every diagnostic test.  Ensure they have by asking.

Third, your billing records are an excellent source of information concerning your care. Attorney Joseph Taraska has found that medical facilities, doctors’ offices, insurance companies, and even Medicare and Medicaid will upon request provide you with an Itemized statement of every service and the charge for that service.

Fourth, your pharmacy is more than just a middleman to disburse medications.   Mr. Joe Taraska has found that if one establishes a relationship with their pharmacist that individual can provide a wealth of information regarding medications you have been prescribed. Most importantly this includes adverse reactions and interactions with other medications you may be taking.  Most can also provide you with printouts that discuss your medication in detail.  Attorney Taraska says that one of the best ways to avoid medication errors is to review this information on every new medication you receive. In addition, write out all the medications you are on, the dose, frequency, and provider.  Ensure that you provide your medical provider with this list and update it as necessary.

Finally, never be too shy to call your provider or if in the hospital reach out to the nurses and physicians if you have a concern.  They are there to help you.  You may not understand the significance of the problem you are experiencing, and they can either reassure you or more importantly evaluate the difficulty and provide timely curative therapy.  Speak up for yourself---they will also appreciate this as they cannot help you if not aware of what you are experiencing.

If you believe that an error has occurred in your care and as a result suffered a serious injury and your provider cannot correct the difficulty Attorney Joseph Taraska suggests that you may consider contacting an attorney who specializes in medical incidents.  This is a very specialized area of the law and those who are trained and experienced in it can often provide you with the advice you require.  It may be that upon evaluation, what occurred is an unfortunate but recognized complication.  On the other hand, if an unacceptable error has occurred an experienced attorney can take steps to ensure you are fairly compensated.  In this regard, you must keep in mind that there are time limits when such an action can be brought.  If time has elapsed, it may be that nothing can be done.  For this reason, if your physician cannot assist you and you continue to believe that an error occurred Attorney Taraska advises that you seek timely advice.

These simple steps may help to reassure you understand the care you receive and in the event of an error correct it so that your therapy is appropriate for you.