Get Involved in Your Care

Patients can ensure a safer experience with the healthcare system by being involved and informed about their treatment. Improving patient safety requires continuous learning and constant communication between caregivers, organizations and patients. Everyone has a role in patient safety and everyone benefits from its successes.

What can consumers do to make sure they have a safer experience? Follow these suggestions:

• Become a more informed healthcare consumer.
• Keep track of your history and carry it with you.
• Work with your doctor and other healthcare professionals as a team.
• Involve a family member or friend in your care.
• Follow the treatment plan agreed upon by your doctor.

Taking an Active Role

The single most important way you can stay healthy is to be an active member of your own healthcare team. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (available online at www.ahrq.gov/consumer/quicktips/doctalk.htm) has the following quick tips for talking with your doctor. Give information. Don’t wait to be asked. Get information. Ask questions; if you don’t, your doctor may think you understand things you don’t. Take information home. Once you leave the doctor’s office, follow up with questions.

Dean is committed to providing you with the information you need to take an active role in obtaining the safest care possible. Visit our Patient Safety Initiatives on our Website at www.deancare.com/healthplan. Remember: Being a partner in your healthcare is the best way to get the care that is best for you.

For more information,

you can also visit the Madison Patient Safety Collaborative Website at www.madisonpatientsafety.org.

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