Leaving Hospital? Why One Doctor Says to Have a Nurse Make Your Follow-Up Appointments First

Written by Leigh Ann Otte | 14 February 2012
Posted in Health and Wellness

When you check out of a hospital, the last thing you want to do is check right back in—especially for something preventable. But too often, that’s what happens.

Hospital readmission has become such a problem that facilities are experimenting with new discharge methods, and Medicare plans to start penalizing hospitals that have a lot of readmissions.

But there are many things patients and their families can do to decrease the chance of a boomerang hospital discharge. In fact, there are so many that even these solutions can get overwhelming. So in the magazine The Atlantic, one neurologist narrowed the advice down and picked his top-five tips. For example:

One of the main causes of readmission to the hospital is that the patient has not had appropriate follow-up after they leave the hospital. You may be told to see your regular doctor in 10 days, but when you call, they cannot see you for six weeks. Have the nurse or case manager at the hospital you are leaving call and make the appointment. Insist on it.

In the coming weeks, Preferred Care at Home will be announcing a new service that will help you through hospital discharge and the days afterward, so you have a better chance of stay home once you get there. The service will include a free tool you can download. Keep an eye on this blog for the announcement—and the opportunity to download the tool, which you can keep on-hand and use anytime.

An Easy Way to Encourage Hand-Washing

Written by Leigh Ann Otte | 07 February 2012
Posted in Health and Wellness

Ideally, the hospital is where germs go to die. In reality, that doesn’t always happen, and it becomes a breeding ground instead. Germs hop from hand to hand to nose to mouth to wound …. Yikes.

Because of this, nurses and doctors are supposed to wash their hands before treating you. But as a patient—or a patient’s companion—if you don’t see this happen, you need to insist upon it.

And here’s where it can get awkward for the more timid among us. If the thought of being assertive with an authority figure makes you more squeamish than seeing blood, perhaps a tip from Elizabeth Bailey, author of The Patient’s Checklist: 10 Simple Hospital Checklists to Keep You Safe, will help.

As USA Today reports, Bailey advises bringing a small bottle of hand sanitizer with you to the hospital. According to the article:

You should plant that next to your bed so that you can frequently clean your hands — and not-so-subtly remind everyone else to do likewise. That may lower the risk that you will pick up a nasty infection.

If a nurse fails to do some hand scrubbing before treating you, perhaps you can politely offer some of your bedside germ killer. The nurse should take the hint. If not (sigh) you’ll have to insist. After all, you went there to get well, not give them repeat business.

Free Video Chats Keep Elderly Parents, Adult Children in Touch

Written by Leigh Ann Otte | 02 February 2012
Posted in Family Caregivers

Listening to a voice on the telephone can only tell you so much. Often, your eyes give a better assessment than your ears.

But when you don’t live near your elderly parents, you may feel a phone call is the only option to personally check in on them. In this day and age, though, there’s another way: a video chat.

In a tips list for long-distance caregivers that’s based on advice from the National Institutes of Health, AARP and interviews with caregivers, the Associated Press recommends embracing technology* and says not to underestimate your elderly parents’ learning capacity:

Keep in regular contact with your loved one and, if possible, use video chats so you can make visual assessments. Seniors often defy stereotypes with their handle on technology and can master useful tools like Skype or other video chatting services, such as on the iPad.

Such video chats are often free. And they allow you to watch for some of the signs that your parents are depressed or having trouble taking care of themselves. If you see such signs, well-chosen in-home caregivers in your parents’ own hometown can give compassionate, skilled aid.

*AP stories may be available online for a limited amount of days.