Speak
up!
Six ways to build better communication
with your healthcare team
when my father went into the hospital for a minor prostate
procedure in 2007 he expected a short stay and a few weeks of
forgoing his daily walk. Instead, he went home with a bacterial
infection that required intravenous antibiotics and eventually led
to about a dozen hospitalizations over the next two years. At one
point, my teenage son contracted the MRSA (Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus) superbug after visiting his grandfather and
the two were hospitalized at the same time. My son healed. My
father never did.
Out of that experience and my two-year ringside view of how
hospitals work, I’ve learned that illness is the great leveler. I also
found out that even the most well-intentioned doctors, nurses and
other medical staff can’t do it all; it is up to us as patients to take
charge of the quality of our care too. When we are sick and hospi-
talized we need more than ever to listen and be listened to, which
means we must also speak up to ensure we help our healthcare
providers deliver the optimal care we all want and deserve. Unfor-
tunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all blueprint for how to be a bet-
ter communicator when you’re in the hospital. But there are some
simple ways to improve how you listen and what you say as you
navigate your stay—here are six:
instead of taking your medication without being really sure
what you’re taking or why…
…speak up and ask the purpose of each drug as well as pos-
e
d
a
t
r
sible side effects and interactions among all of the medications
p
o
r you’re taking (over-the-counter and prescription) and if there are
o
c

i
n any foods or supplements that should be avoided, recommends
e
e
r

v
© Story by Mary Beth Sammons
the patient magazine 2010 23
PT022__0FVP0_SP10FEATspeakup.indd 23 2/2/10 8:18 AM
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