Tips For Finding a Physician and Other Health Care Providers

Finding a primary care physician (PCP), as well as other health care providers (Occupational, Physical or Speech Therapist, dieticians, and multiple others types) to oversee all our health care needs is one of the most significant health decisions we make. It can be difficult to find someone who we feel is experienced, knowledgeable, trustworthy and aware of what is in our chart, willing to listen, explain and educate, as well as make us feel at ease.

Personally, I have had too many horrible experiences with several practitioners in the health care field and would like to steer clear of any happening ever again! The tips below are to help others know what to take into consideration when choosing a physician, or other health care provider, so you can have the best possible care and a positive experience.

TIPS FOR FINDING A PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN, SPECIALIST AND OTHER HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS

• Primary Care Physician (PCP) – if you don’t already have a PCP, this should be your first step! Many insurance plans require you acquire a primary care physician to take care of your day to day health problems, as well as oversee any specialists you may require. However, when we need care that is no longer his expertise, we need a physician that does not hesitate to order required tests, refer us out to a specialist, or other health care providers. Here are a few examples of what your PCP will handle:

•  routine screening’s and wellness visits
•  non-emergency illnesses like, earaches, sore throats
•  answer any health care questions and concerns, including mental health issues
•  treatment of acute illnesses, such as upper respiratory infections or skin disorders, allergies
•  minor breaks, lacerations
• diabetes, COPD, hypertension management and medication management
• minor procedures, including mole removal 
•  routine men's and women’s health care
•  immunizations, flu and pneumonia shots

• Call your insurance carrier – if your need to find a primary care physician or if you want to see someone other than your PCP and don’t have a referral, find out their policy for referrals so you aren’t stuck with a huge bill.  Many insurance companies require referrals for going to a specialist or other health care providers.

• Communicate with your primary care physician regarding a referral – if your PCP refers you out to someone, or you feel you need to see a specialist or other health care provider, make sure you discuss what specialist or health care provider who what type of specialist you want to see for your specific condition to be sure it is the correct specialty. That would save a lot of stress, time and money by avoiding going to the wrong specialist.

• Check your insurance directory or website - find which health care providers are “in network” for your insurance. And then call to verify they still accept your insurance because health care providers often add and drop insurance plans.

• Referrals - many feel more comfortable visiting a health care provider who is recommended by someone they know and trust. Talk to family, friends and coworkers to find out who they see, who they like and don’t like. Also, if you know a doctor, nurse or healthcare professional ask them for names of healthcare professionals.

• Location - you may want to consider an office location that is convenient either to your home or work. Not only that, but you may even want to consider their office hours, what days and times they are available to see patients and if they may be open late one night a week.

• Hospitals affiliation – if you have a preference as to which hospital you go to check to see where the physician has admitting privileges. You may also check for hospital ratings to see how that facility compares with others in your area.

• Research - Consumer Reports suggests you look up the physician to be sure they are board certified by going to certificationmatters.org 

• Ratings - check the physicians, and other health care provider’s ratings by other patients at various websites, such as Healthcare.com and vitals.com  These are two of many websites on the internet that can help you find a variety of health care workers by specialty, condition, insurance, name, and more. You can find patients’ ratings of the physicians’ mannerisms, promptness, accuracy, diagnoses, wait time and staff, as well as a patient comment area for each physician. Personally, after many bad experiences, I won’t see a new physician unless I check their ratings and they have a rating of at least a 4.5.

• Communication - check which language the physician speaks so you can be able to clearly communicate with each other. Interacting openly with each other is a major need many patients have. Having a health care provider that isn’t able to speak clearly can be exceedingly complicated for many, especially for someone that has a hearing impairment. Many doctors’ offices are now using email or an online portal to communicate with patients. This may be vital to some when selecting a physician. Bringing a friend with you if you have hearing problems can be a benefit.
 

Visiting the Health Care Provider

•  Remember to be respectful of his/her time when you visit your health care provider.
• Focus on why you are there. Have a list of your issues and questions so you don’t forget any. 
• Have a list of all your medical diagnoses, your medications, allergies, any tests you had with the results.
• Bring a notebook to write down anything that you don’t want to forget.
• Fill out any forms completely and legibly.
• Stay on topic.
• Be honest. Even with the embarrassing things they ask!

Remember, it can often take time to resolve an issue, so to be patient! It may take a few trials of different medications or treatments. Often people will get frustrated and go see another provider when they have been trialing various treatments. Consider discussing your concerns with your health care provider before discontinuing treatment and going elsewhere. It may save time and money.

• Relationship - your health care provider should be someone you feel you can trust and be comfortable with overseeing your care from all the specialists you may see, help you get the tests and treatment you need and pulling all the information together.

• Personality - here are some things to ask yourself and take into consideration on your first visit to a new health care provider:

• Does the physician/health care provider listen to you, including making eye contact, without interrupting?
• Does he/she fully answer your questions?
• Do they encourage you to ask questions?
• Do the physician/ health care provider explain your diagnosis and treatment in ways you can understand? 
• Does the physician explain the need for a follow up visit if required? 

• Staff - Do you find the staff welcoming, competent and respectful towards you? These are the people that schedule appointments, check you in and out, give the doctor your messages and take care of insurance concerns. Respect and quality of care is important, not only with the health care provider, but with the people in the office as well.

• Switching Providers - Don’t be afraid to switch doctors if you find that you are not compatible or are not getting the results you want with your concerns. However, do give your physician several tries, make sure you discuss your concerns before leaving to be sure there is no miscommunication. Many people tend to up and leave if the physician is not able to help them on the first or second try. You have to be verbal and explain specifically what your concerns are. Make a list of these concerns before you go into see your physician so you’re able to completely discuss them and ask what specifically they can do to help you. However, if you feel it is not a good fit for whatever reasons, know it is okay to find someone who is able to address your issues and do something proactive. Don’t settle for being told that there’s nothing wrong with you due to they aren’t able to find anything with blood tests, x-rays, MRIs, or other tests. Get another opinion! Sometimes tests are not read properly, or some other error may have occurred. 

If things don’t work out with a health care provider, please don’t make the mistake many people do, don’t go home and give up! I have met many over the years that do this! Your health and happiness is too important for that! Keep seeking another health care provider until you have answers and results you deserve! Sometimes you may need to take a few days off to regroup before researching again, this can be disheartening and stressful. Don’t let a bad experience unnerve you! There are many great physicians out there; sometimes it takes a few trials to find one!

Never give up and never lose hope!

THE IMPORTANCE OF A SUPPORT GROUP

THE IMPORTANCE OF A SUPPORT GROUP

Lack of support and socialization leaves many of us suffering with chronic pain in isolation. This way of life can rob us of one of life’s basic needs, the sense of belonging. Yes, there are people that do like to be alone.  But, for the most part, many of us like to have others to talk with, share with and laugh with. We want to be understood and feel as if someone can understand what we are dealing with. This gives us a feeling of, “OH! I am not alone in this!” “Wow! There are others going through the same feelings, problems, etc.”

One of the things I  hate to see in the groups I am involved in are the lonely, suffering people out there! This makes my heart sad. Having an illness that leaves you with chronic pain, making working challenging, causing one to be unable to go to work, as well as prevent socializing or getting out of the house to do things you use to enjoy, can definitely leave you feeling isolated and alone.

Of course, support groups may not be for everyone, talking with family and friends can fill that need for some. But, for others that are left feeling isolated or needing to talk more, belonging to a support group helps one to have others with similar problems to share experiences with.

And yet, some may need a more in-depth outlet such as seeing a psychologist or other type of behavioral specialist. If you have overwhelming feelings of grief or depression or thoughts of harming yourself please seek help. There is a lot out there! There is no shame in asking for help! Many living with moderate to severe chronic pain have wanted to have it stop. It is extremely hard to learn to live with.

Know there are many out there that have learned how to live this way and understand every single thing it brings into your life. You are not alone!

We understand the many aspects of living with chronic pain! It can lead to feeling judged, misunderstood, lonely, isolated, lost, hopeless, helpless, confused, low self esteem and self worth, depressed and feeling as if we have no purpose! That's seriously a lot to carry around in our hearts all alone!

A Healthy Lifestyle with Chronic Pain - Healthy Eating

A Healthy Lifestyle with Chronic Pain – Healthy Eating 

A healthy lifestyle is important for everyone, but for those of us living with illnesses and chronic pain it is a major tool we can use to feel as best we can in our challenging lives. Exercising, planning healthy meals, shopping for and preparing them requires work, using energy we don’t have. All that activity can have a ripple effect increasing our pain, leaving many of us frustrated, feeling defeated and going back to grabbing foods that require little to no preparation. These “fast foods” are often filled with fats, carbohydrates, sugars and additives, as well as low in much needed nutrients, fiber and protein.

However, if we take smaller steps in the right direction, steps that are physically and emotionally possible for us, we can achieve the best health possible even living with the physical ailments and chronic pain we deal with every day! There are many things we just do not have control over, however, exercising as best we can, eating healthy, being as social as we can, as well as spending time practicing our faith are areas we do have control over. Not taking care of what we have control over can leave us feeling worse than we already do, leaving us weaker and feeling hopeless and helpless. We each need to seriously consider grabbing a hold of what we can and do the best we can with it to have the healthiest life possible in our circumstances! Please know I am not negating the fact that some of us are just starting this journey and are grieving horribly the many losses chronic pain brings us and do not have one care to exercise and eat right at the stage of grief your are in, please know all you can do is your best.

Previously

In a previous blog article, Making Attainable New Years Resolutions with Chronic Pain.  the many reasons exercising is beneficial was listed. We also looked at making SMART goals that were specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely in order to have a good goal in place to help us achieve what we want, looking at ways to make it "doable" for us with chronic pain. You can find free PDF templates here with directions to help plan out your goals.

We looked at the unrealistic goal I originally made for exercising: I will walk 2 miles a day. I figured I would get on my treadmill and walk off into eternal bliss of healthfulness! I planned on achieving this in 2-3 sessions throughout the day, considering one long stretch was not physically possible for me. As it turned out, while going through physical therapy multiple times, I hit a wall; doing more than 5 to 10 minutes on the treadmill resulted in me spending 3 to 4 days in bed afterwards in severe pain.