People who are seriously ill have learned a thing or two about dealing with the health care system, according to an October 20, 2018 New York Times article.
For example: Bring your documents with you to doctor’s appointments. Plan your questions in advance. Seek advice or help from a family member or friend who works in health care, or from others who have a similar health condition as you.
This is some of the advice that came from seriously ill people who responded to a survey by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, the New York Times, and the Commonwealth Fund.
Another piece of advice from more than half of those surveyed: Bring a friend or family member to every appointment. John Benson, senior research scientist in Harvard Chan School’s Department of Health Policy and Management, who helped create the survey, told the Times that people who are very ill “need somebody who will be able to function who is not ill.”
Read the New York Times article: Advice From Health Care’s Power Users