You must be the advocate for your own health. As great as doctors are, they see dozens of patients a day, or hundreds a month. You must know what is going into and happening with your own body. Here are some concrete steps to prevent a medical mistake from happening to you:
- Before any procedure, make sure you confirm with the technician or physician: your name, date of birth, why you are here today, and what site are you being treated for today.
- Before any surgical procedure, make sure the physician marks the physical location of the surgery site. Make sure it is on the correct side of your body.
- Before you take any drug, confirm the name of the drug and the dosage. Same goes for any drug that is injected into your body. Make sure you know why you are receiving that particular drug.
- Before any labs, confirm that the correct tests have been ordered and entered into the system.
- Before leaving your appointment, confirm with the physician all the necessary follow-up scans and laboratory tests that you need. Ask who should be following up with whom, or who should be receiving a call from whom.
- Bring a friend or family member who can serve as your patient advocate. This may be one of the most important things you can do. This person can remember a different aspect of what the doctor talked about. This person can fight for you when you are not able to.
- If you do not understand something, ask your doctor to slow down and explain again
- If you have a concern with what you are experiencing, speak up using specific words. Many of us tend to use weasel words or beat around the bush. Instead, use stronger language such as:
- I am concerned with…
- I am uncomfortable with…
- This is an unsafe situation because…
