Fundraiser for my Wife & Resources for Self-employed without Insurance

From Nancy Davison: Martin Brossman: Martin has given us so much information that Have helped me with my business and friendships through the use of the web. Got a new event coming up - just for Barbara and Martin to show our appreciation - check it out http://carrbrossmanhiphop.eventbrite.com "

My Wife had a freak fall after coming home from a long weekend taking care of my parents (they live in Washington DC) and broke her hip. My wife has always been the model or good health and did not have health insurance. We were going to get it but the cost of the test to get the insurance delayed our decision since she had no history of even going to a doctor. She actually eats very well and just does not get sick. With bills in excess of $45,000 (already got it down to this number and will keep working on it) Nancy Davison and other kind people have offered this fund raiser. It took me 4 days to except this generous offer. I want to this to be a very fun time and value to all as well as collect resources for all the self-employed people that do not have medical coverage yet. [We are in action on getting coverage for Barbara NOW.]

As many of you know the demands of my parents over the last two year have had a greater impact on my busienss then the economy. We hope to see all that can come out to this and thanks all that have helped.

You can sign up for the event here:

http://carrbrossmanhiphop.eventbrite.com

If you have any web links for free resources for the self-employed without ensurance please email it to me ( martin@coachingsupport.com ) to post here and we will have a handout at the event related to this.

Barbara Carr Brossman and myself Martin Brossman appreciate you and thank you.

Nancy aske me to make sure to add our busienss websites as well for we welcome business too:

www.CoachingSupport.com is mine and Barbara's is www.NaturesFace.com

A short URL for this posting and title is:
CARR-BROSSMAN HIP HOP Event! Wed, July29, 2009 - 6:00-10:00PM http://bit.ly/3VAM3

Top 10 Tips for Dealing w/Medical Professionals

Top 10 Tips for Dealing w/Medical Professionals

1. Remember who has the "upper hand" and the old saying "you get more bees w/honey!" You're under stress, so it may take more effort to be nice, but it's critical!

2. "Can you help me understand?" is a powerful question. When things aren't happening as you think they should, this is far more effective than "why aren't you? why don't you? when are you?" etc.!

3. Ask for a specialist! If you go to the ER with a significant problem (ie., heart attack, serious wounds requiring plastic surgery), in most cases, if you don't request a specialist, you will get a resident (nothing against residents! they have a role to fill, but that doesn't mean you want them working on you or your loved one alone in a critical situation! They can be present WITH the specialist!). Some hospitals no longer allow this, but ask! If you go by ambulance & have a choice in hospitals, ask the paramedics wherer this is allowed (& where THEY would go)!

4. When asking for a referring doctor or specialist, or being "assigned one", ask a nurse who they would use. Don't ask "would you recommend, or do you like", ask "if you needed a _______ for yourself or loved one who do you/would you pick?"

5. Surgery- insist that you give permission for changes in course unless life threatening. Also, insist that the surgery be performed by a specialist and not an intern or resident (you will see language allowing this on the releases you have to sign. Line through them and initial!)

6. Remember that hospital staff members are often unappreciated and abused (in some cases by the hospital that they work for as much as the patients!). Look for ways to acknowledge and appreciate them ,and they will appreciate and respect you! It's not hard to look someone in the eye and say "thank you", but we rarely do!

7. Candy never hurts! If you are to be in the hospital overnight, have someone bring a big bowl of candy to share (or some kind of treats for the staff). They will come "check on you" more often :)

8. If you are being treated badly, kindly point out that you had a choice in hospitals and you chose theirs! If they don't care, find an administrator (they are only there during office hours) in the office area of the hospital. They spend a lot of money marketing themselves to GET patients, and sometimes need to be reminded! Those in the risk management role also understand that patient "happiness" plays a big part in protecting their liability. "ER and floor staff" don't have that perspective!

9. Give them a little perspective...If you are being overlooked, or feel that the person you are dealing with is "not engaged", give them a little perspective by saying something like "I know you have a lot of patients and we aren't the only ones. We don't want to be a pain, all we ask is that you would treat us the way that you would want your _________ (mother, father, child) to be treated.

10. If you feel that you or your loved one is in dire danger and fear for their life, don't sit back helplessly! With your phone camera, let the staff know that you are recording audio or video of them and the patient as evidence if something happens! Find an administrator, or if time is critical, call 911! Demand an ambulance crew be sent to the room!

here ya go!

At Your Service,

Heather O'

Surviving the Medical System - By Martin Brossman

When my father (Martin Brossman II) suffered two heart attacks and repeated hospital visits in the space of two years, I quickly gained a good deal of insight into the nuances of interacting with the medical system. This, combined with years of volunteering at Duke Hospital where I received the Governor’s Volunteer of the Year award, helped me to develop an approach I now call The Colombo Process. Colombo, the TV detective played by Peter Falk, was famous for masking his relentless persistence behind a friendly, charming façade. As any Colombo fan will attest, he always got the information he needed. The core principle of The Colombo Process is the key to dealing with the medical system: Doctors and nurses bear the responsibility to explain things in your language! If you don’t understand the explanations you hear, be sure to clearly express your concerns. Competent professionals explain things patiently and clearly. Medical care providers are no exception. If you feel that you’ve been treated in an impatient or condescending manner, find someone else to work with if at all possible. I first put the Process in action after my father’s first heart attack, in a Washington, D.C. hospital close to the home where I grew up as an only child, where he still lives with my mother who has also had heart and other related problems. During that hospital stay I recall telling the doctors up front, “I am not very good with medical terms and have a mind like a steel sieve, so I need to make notes while we talk.” I would be sure to follow this line with a warm smile, and soon made this my customary practice. Some other handy Colombo-like phrases I applied in requesting information or assistance were: What does it take to …. ? Would you help me…? Could you help me with this…? As I’ve observed many times, families often have to hunt down doctors just to find out what’s going on. I’ve often wondered how much more impact doctors could make if they would simply make an extra effort to keep their patients--and patients’ families--in the loop. On one occasion, I put this question to a very successful malpractice attorney: “How would it effect your practice if doctors truly communicated with their patients.” She said that if this were to happen she would be “completely out of business.” I want you to reflect on how profound that statement is, especially if you are a doctor or nurse. When speaking to a care provider, log the time and ask for the spelling of their name, as well as their role in taking care of your family member. You don’t have to accept what you're told without question. I also recommend speaking to your attorney about designating medical power of attorney for your loved ones. If and when they are hospitalized, bring a copy of the paperwork and make sure it goes into their files. I also recommend keeping a log of events from all previous medical records. This includes all known allergies, what occurred and when, and a list of all medications. Hospitals will often interrogate patients with detailed questions when they are too sick to answer reliably. If you keep your own list, it will help to insure that the hospitals continue to act based on accurate information. If you are completely alone, take notes, and if you are not able to take notes, use a digital recorder. Try to find someone you can “report to” so that you can claim that there’s someone outside to give updates to. You might say, “I need to get all the information correct, because my friend Jane will be checking up on me.” When a doctor orders a test, you have a right to ask how it contributes to your recovery. You may also consider asking how they plan to act on the results of this test. I fended off several unnecessary tests during my father’s stays in the hospital. Most recently, a test order was worded in such a way that I almost missed it. The person told me that they planned to do a chemical stress test “to compare it to the MRI.” I let her know I had medical power of attorney, and I asked if the test was directly necessary for my father’s survival. She then admitted that it was part of a statistical trial to compare two types of tests, and that they didn’t need to do it. Doctors like to make their rounds first thing in the morning, so it’s important that you get there early. They may not want to slow down to answer your questions, but to me it’s part of their job. Don’t hesitate to write out your questions in advance. Attempt to keep them short and clear, and stick to the most important points. Then be persistent in getting the answers. You may need to say something like, “You will have to dumb that down for me; I just don’t understand.” At the same time, make sure to recognize those who do a good job - commutative, competent and compassionate. In most hospitals they have a “Star Award” system where you can write up an acknowledgment to anyone who does an outstanding job . Make the effort to thank someone for helping you or your family member. Remember the key is polite persistence. Almost everyone in the system is too busy to give the level of attention they would like, so you need to help fill in the blanks. Be creative, smile, and take lots of notes. At the end of my father’s first hospitalization, they said he could go home once he was “processed” at 10:00am. At 3:00pm, they still had not done anything, and I knew that if he wasn’t out by 5:00pm, he would have to stay another day. My father was worn out and just wanted to go home. All reasonable requests made no difference, so I became creative. I noticed that when I took any of the nurses’ time, the head nurse for the floor seemed to get annoyed. I started talking to the nurses at the nurses’ station often, showing them magic tricks and telling jokes. That brought more nurses to see what I was doing. The head nurse kept coming in and out, looking increasingly annoyed. I would go away and come back to entertain more, just name-dropping that we (my father and I) could hardly wait to get out. I sent a clear unspoken message: “Process my father, and I’ll be out of your hair.” At 4:00, the head nurse walked up to me and said in a stern voice, “I have seen to it that your father will be out of here in half an hour. Can you please go back to your father’s room and help him get ready to leave?” I thanked her warmly and went right back to the room. Remember, polite persistence with creativity is the key to The Colombo Process. You’ll find this works for other areas of life as well. Generally building good relationships with the nurses is well worth your time as well. Letting them know you are actively involved is very important. The nurses carry part of the burden when the doctors don’t communicate well and I have found they are receptive to this. Most nurses want the doctors to communicate with the patients and family members more clearly because it is less of a burden on them. With specialists you have to be careful for they may defend their associates more then be concerned with your issues. Again, don’t accept answers you don’t understand! Don’t assume they are all communicating with each other. Review what you hear from other doctors, asking how their part contributes to the recovery or enhanced quality of life of yourself or the person you are looking out for. Let them know you want to be part of the decisions, not just notified of the decisions. Then there are times when you may need to put Colombo on the shelf and use a Billy Jack approach. Billy Jack was an American Indian fictional character in a series of movies who practiced Kung Fu to defend the wronged: he told the bad guys what he’s was going to do and then he did it. For example, during one of Dad’s hospital stays, playing the power of attorney card didn’t work, and persistence didn’t either. I wasn’t getting the information I needed. I called our family attorney and asked her to write a letter requesting that I be kept informed on all changes and involved in all decisions. “I am requesting that all medical personnel involved in his care and treatment advise and consult with me before initiating, rejecting or terminating any specific medical procedures, treatments or tests, unless such procedure is required on an emergency basis where need and time is of such essence that the delay occasioned by attempting to contact me would be perilous.” Note to all doctors and medical professionals reading this: I would have preferred not to do this but it was the only action I could think of to learn needed information. What caused this situation? In our case, the hospital staff frequently told critical information to my father when I had stepped out of the room for coffee or a phone call, and he couldn't remember almost nothing of what they said. Then I couldn’t reach the staff member on the phone to find out more details. When all else failed, the Billy Jack approach worked. With one arrogant doctor, I had to say, “Do I need to have our attorney contact you, or can you take the time to answer my questions?” He found time. Most condescending doctors are completely unconscious as to their shortcomings, but I still hold them responsible for communicating in a way I can understand. (To medical professionals reading this, if you are annoyed by this article, maybe it’s time for some self-evaluation.) Be aware, too, that you have to take ultimate responsibility for your health. Research your condition and the medical effects of all drugs. With a good pharmacist (a good one volunteers information), you can cross-check the medical interactions. The more you take care of yourself, the less likely it is that you’ll have to deal with the medical system. If you have the attitude that your doctor should “fix you,” you are not taking responsibility for your health. I would like to hear what you have found effective, or about any good resources you’ve found that might help others out in dealing with the medical system. They can only take our rights away with our help. When we work together, we multiply our efforts. Please pass this on to anyone you care about. My intention is for us to live the highest quality lives. When fighting for your loved ones life in the medical system "Don't leave home without Columbo and Billy Jack". A Concerned Son, Martin W Brossman III Martin@CoachingSupport.com Contribution post are welcome and if you find if you find this useful please share it. Short URL for the entire, Success with the Medical System Blog: http://tinyurl.com/medsuccess

Here is a short URL for just this blog posting to share:

http://tinyurl.com/survivingmedical

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