SOME IDEAS FOR MORE EFFICIENT HEALTH CARE
(Source: Wikihow.com, with our edits and updates as of November 25, 2011)

Keep a journal of your medical problems and treatments.[1] Bring it with you when you visit a doctor. The journal will help you remember the details of what to tell the doctor. In one section, or, if you prefer, a section for each problem, keep a diary of each of your problems. Describe the problem and any changes you notice, being as detailed and precise as possible. For pain, write down how severe it was on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the worst possible pain you have ever experienced) and how long it lasted. For problems you can see, like a mark or lump, measure and draw or take a picture. If you try a remedy, write down what you did and how it worked. Date every entry. In another section, list your medications, the dates you began and finished taking them, the doses and frequencies, and any side-effects you may have experienced. Include anything that seems at all like a drug, including prescribed drugs, over-the-counter drugs, supplements, vitamins, and special diets. Review your journal before any doctor’s appointment.

You could keep the journal on a computer and e mail it to your physician (most M.D.’s offices are becoming computerized under Federal mandate).

If you’re at all unsure about how to describe a drug, bring the doctor the bottle (keep the pills in it to avoid dangerous confusion).

 

Document your discussion. The next time you see your doctor, for whatever reason, discuss the problems in your journal. Mention the drugs, too, so the doctor can tell if any of them are inappropriate or could cause problems for a particular course of treatment. Write down the diagnosis and treatment plan in your journal. Go over these with your doctor to make sure you understand them. A separate section for doctors’ advice, with each entry dated, would help you make sure to keep up with this important information.

Make a file to save any papers your doctor or other healthcare providers such as pharmacies give you, too.

Ask for more time. When making the appointment with the doctor, let the office know if you have lots to discuss with the doctor and to give you a longer time-slot. This shouldn’t require bigger co-pay, but does give them a heads-up for scheduling, so you can be sure to get all of the issues at hand discussed.
With so much to discuss, your doctor will surely appreciate your being on time. Try to arrive early.

Ask for samples. During your time with the doctor, tell him if any medications you take may need refilling soon, and ask if they have samples. Sometimes the doctor will have free promotional samples for you.

Ask about generic and lower-cost substitute drugs. Often a drug is available in generic form (the same drug, from a different maker) at low cost, or there is a less expensive substitute available (which could be less expensive for reasons having nothing to do with its effectiveness, or not relevant to your particular problem). These generally don’t come with slick promotional materials or samples, but with the savings you won’t mind.

When scheduling a well check-up that requires labs, have the doctor’s office send you the lab slip so you can go in the week before (or when they advise) to have the lab samples taken. By the time you see the doctor the results should be ready to consider at that visit.

Control prices with a high deductible health insurance plan,combined with a “Healthcare Savings Account”. This is a complex subject treated elsewhere on this web site or go to http://www.hsacenter.com/2011limits.html for a summary current to the year 2011.

There are also “medical discount plans”[7] that provide discounts only, and religious associations that share medical costs on an ongoing basis without any guarantees[8]. These arrangements are not regulated like insurance, so if you’re considering one, do your research to make sure that it is what it claims to be and that it is what you want.[9][10]