Return-Path: <root> Received: (from root@localhost) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) id f7VBtR110668 for health-archive@nifl.gov; Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:55:27 -0400 (EDT) Resent-Message-Id: <200108311155.f7VBtR110668@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from c001.snv.cp.net (c001-h007.c001.snv.cp.net [209.228.32.121]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id f65H9kf06098 for <nifl-health@nifl.gov>; Thu, 5 Jul 2001 13:09:46 -0400 (EDT) Received: (cpmta 19239 invoked from network); 5 Jul 2001 10:09:41 -0700 Received: from 218.winstar.net (HELO Beth) (63.140.13.218) by smtp.literacyaction.org (209.228.32.121) with SMTP; 5 Jul 2001 10:09:41 -0700 X-Sent: 5 Jul 2001 17:09:41 GMT From: "Beth Odom" <bethodom@literacyaction.org> To: <nifl-health@nifl.gov> Subject: RE: [NIFL-HEALTH:3162] RE: Research on bringing a partner to medical appts Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 13:08:45 -0400 Message-ID: <NEBBJKHLILOPLOFAODCNAEBJCCAA.bethodom@literacyaction.org> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Importance: Normal In-Reply-To: <40B30BA5E139F648B2EA60E6AE3A7B260DA3CB@sphnt3.sph.uth.tmc.edu> Resent-From: root@literacy.nifl.gov Resent-Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2001 07:55:27 -0400 Resent-To: health-archive@nifl.gov Status: O Content-Length: 2969 Lines: 77 Excellent points Karyn! This is so true! Additionally note, many patients do not tell their doctors (or anyone else) that they possess low-literacy skills. A companion who can take notes and/or read informational materials about a diagnosis or condition and ask relevant questions will be invaluable. Elizabeth Odom Literacy Action Inc. Atlanta, Georgia -----Original Message----- From: nifl-health@nifl.gov [mailto:nifl-health@nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Popham, Karyn Sent: Thursday, July 05, 2001 11:34 AM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:3162] RE: Research on bringing a partner to medical appts It is certainly a widely recommended practice in the patient education community. The companion can take notes, can serve as a check on what the patient thought he or she heard, and can be a significant help to those who are having communication difficulties because of age, infirmity, fatigue, pain, or shock (e.g., from a diagnosis). They can also serve as a check on the medical provider's tendency (present more often than one would hope) to dismiss or denigrate questions (particularly when they come from elderly women). I can certainly vouch from personal experience that I or my sister always go with my mother to significant medical appointments: we don't attend her routine physical therapy or follow-up sessions, but you can bet we're there when diagnosis or treatment decisions are made or when she will be receiving instructions for tests or new medications. I can also vouch from painful personal experience the value of having someone there to take notes and--perhaps even more important--summarize back to the doctor what he or she just said. Particularly when doctors don't bother to put it in writing, such notes can be literally life-saving. The doctor told me I had hepatitis. The doctor told me to eat a high-protein diet. Either the doctor did not say or I did not hear that it should also be a low-fat diet. I was a vegetarian. I lived on peanut butter the next three months. My SGOT counts went through the roof, and it's really rather amazing I lived through it. (This was back in the early 70s. Even then, the mantra among business was "verbal orders don't go: PUT IT IN WRITING". Medicine learns slowly: when was the last time your doctor gave you any instructions in writing?) Check PubMed for "Physician-Patient Relations" and particularly look at Deborah Roter's work on patient-physician communication. Cheers, Karyn Popham Houston, Texas -----Original Message----- From: Linda S. Potter [mailto:lspotter@att.net] Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2001 9:32 AM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:3156] Research on bringing a partner to medical appts Could anyone provide references for published studies, or other articles, on the value of bringing a friend or family member to medical appointments? In other words, are two heads better than one? Thanks very much. Linda Potter lspotter@att.net
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