Self-Care Strategies: Your Healthcare Team
Self-Care Strategies: Your Healthcare TeamLiving with a long-term health problem is not easy. The day to day management, along with the ongoing long-termchallenges can be overwhelming. But as an active self-care manager you can take control and continue to guide yourlife in the direction you want it to go. The best place to begin is with your healthcare team.When you have a chronic, or long-term condition, your healthcare provider may grow from one to become a team.You will no longer just see your main healthcare provider, which could be a general practitioner or internist, but youwill also begin to visit specialists that can help you manage the different aspects of your disease.For example, if you have diabetes, you may see your primary healthcare provider, a diabetes educator, a dietitian, anexercise specialist and an endocrinologist.If you have heart disease you may add a cardiologist, and cardiac rehabilitation specialist to your team.Together they will work to develop a treatment plan that can help you feel better day to day, and help prevent yourcondition from getting worse.Having more than one care provider and multiple appointments can get overwhelming. It may be helpful toremember that your care team includes you. You are the most important member of your healthcare team and theone with the power to make your treatment plan a success.Take an active role in your treatment plan and work with your healthcare providers to ensure it works best for you.Communication is key. Make sure that all members of your healthcare team communicate with each other and sendall of their reports to your primary care provider, so she has a complete picture of your overall health and can get youthe treatment you need.And as the most important member of your team, make sure you take the time to communicate as well. Talk to yourhealthcare providers about what you can do to take control of your condition. Be honest about what you can andcannot do.Ask questions.“I call my cardiologist and um he told me to stop for ten days and restart, so it’s been better.” – Judy, patient“Very good.” – Healthcare ProviderPage 1 of 2This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.HCGN1023198 EN SelfCareStrategiesYourHealthcareTeam.pdf© The Wellness NetworkSelf-Care Strategies: Your Healthcare TeamWhen you have knowledge about your health you can feel empowered to make needed decisions about yourcare.Try to be clear about what you want to know and at the same time listen to the information your healthcareprovider is giving you. Do you understand? If not, try again. Ask your healthcare provider to spend more timeexplaining their answers.And finally, you must feel comfortable with the members of your healthcare team to get the best results. Youare developing a long-term relationship with many of them and need to feel confident that they can help youwith any challenges you may face.It is ok to ask for a second opinion or referral. This is your health and you need to feel comfortable that yourteam is the best one for you going forward.Having a long-term health condition is not easy. It can be overwhelming, scary, depressing, and exhausting. Butyou don’t have to cope with it alone.Your healthcare team is there to help you every step of the way. Do everything you can to get the most fromyour team.Remember, you will have more than 1 healthcare provider working together as a team; make sure all membersof your care team send their reports to your primary care provider; ask questions in order to make informeddecisions; take time to understand; ask for a second opinion or referral if you feel you need one; and last butcertainly not least – you are the most important member of your care team. You know how you feel best so takean active role in your self-care.None of this is easy. But it is up to you as the manager of your own self-care to make a commitment to takecontrol of your health for the long-term.Page 2 of 2This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.HCGN1023198 EN SelfCareStrategiesYourHealthcareTeam.pdf© The Wellness Network
© The Wellness Network
