Re: NYT article on how to find good medical care - condensed

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Anjou. My attempt to condense main points - the advice from doctors

to patients on finding high quality care:

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* find out which doctors closest friends really like, ...ask trusted

friends, neighbors and colleagues whom they see and feel comfortable with. "

.... " I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for every patient to have

a trustworthy primary care physician who can help them navigate our

challenging, but potentially excellent, health care system, " said Dr.

T. Tayloe

* stressed the importance of patients doing research and becoming active

part of the medical team.

.... " becoming more active and knowledgeable can only improve your care. "

.... " This is a shared responsibility between the physician and the patient

for the patient's health, " said Dr. Ted Epperly

* exercise caution when going through information from commercial or

industry Web sites.

.... " The Web can be a good place but also a dangerous place, " Dr. Epperly

said. " It's important to find sites that aren't biased and that provide

evidence-based information. "

* to ask a prospective doctor questions like how much experience he or she

has with a specific condition or operation

* make sure you feel part of a shared decision-making process and

comfortable saying how you feel, or that you don't understand or that you

respectfully disagree.

* identifying high quality medical groups or hospitals that " carefully

monitor the quality of the clinicians affiliated with them " and that provide

" decision support, continuous quality improvement and continuing education

to keep their clinicians functioning well. "

* contact the national professional society for that doctor's specialty.

(for lymphoma: ASCO / ASH)

.... a plus: membership in the national professional society of a specialty -

often referred to as being a " fellow " in the organization, as in Fellow of

the American College of Surgeons, or F.A.C.S. - requires board certification

and a certain degree of clinical experience.

...look for: M.D., F.A.C.P. "

* ask about participation in clinical trials.

* Caveats... bedside manner is only one of many concerns. " While excellent

quality health care integrates caring with doing the right thing medically, "

she said, " a caring attitude can mask poor quality medicine. "

* most critical - part of deciding on any physician is the first

appointment.

.... * arm yourself with the right questions [in writing - and a summary of

your medical issues and treatments]

* surgical oncologist?

.... ask surgeon about the number of times annually she or he performs the

specific operation needed,

.... ask also about the hospitals in which those operations are performed.

research has shown that hospital mortality rates are lower when those

operations are performed frequently.

==

Subject: [nhl-info] NYT article on how to find good medical care

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/health/08chen.html