In celebration for all you do as fathers and friends, below are eight care coordination tips for America’s men to share with their loved ones from the Coalition for Medicare Choices Medicare Advantage Care Coordination (MACC) Task Force. To download and print your own copy of the tips, click here.
8 CARE COORDINATION TIPS
for America’s Men
Improving care coordination can go a long way toward addressing the serious health challenges facing men across the country. This is especially true for those in Medicare who are managing with multiple chronic and complex conditions. Men die at a younger age than women and are less likely to go to regular check-ups and seek preventive care.
Men’s Health Network offers straight-forward, practical resources that can help patients achieve better care and even health outcomes. The organization provides a number of resources for men and the caregivers in their lives to help identify health warning signs and to actively engage with their doctors around their care.
The MACC Task Force collaborated with Men’s Health Network to share a few simple tips that can help make a difference all year long for men and fathers across the U.S.
01 Prepare for doctor’s appointment like a business meeting: Keep a record of previous health conditions in preparation for appointments. Include in it a list of questions for doctors about different treatment plans. It’s also important to maintain a working list of how you feel and other health developments that you can share with physicians.
02 Identify a family member (i.e., a family caregiver) and have them join you
at medical appointments. Family caregivers are very valuable to ensure that men have their concerns heard, and are often the first to see changes in feeling and personality that may be a result of conditions. They can provide a useful perspective for providers about care.
03 Ask your healthcare provider for suggestions to help better coordinate your care. For certain health conditions, such as diabetes, health care providers have worked to address all aspects of care – from blood sugar monitoring and medications, to the impact of diet and weight, as well as logistical considerations, like transportation to appointments.
04 If you are the family caregiver for a loved one, make sure to take care of yourself too. There are over 43.5 million caregivers in the United States and about 40% are male. To provide the best care for yourself and your loved one, stay rested as much as possible.
05 Keep all members of your care “team” updated. Make sure your providers know about health and life changes (for example, moving or retirement). This includes your family caregiver, health care providers and pharmacist(s).
06 Ask questions of your healthcare providers, especially regarding changes in your care. Programs like Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s “Ask Me 3” and National Transitions of Care Coalition’s “Taking Care of MY Health Care” can help guide you through the most important questions to ask.
07 Consider the impact lifestyle changes may be having on your health and care. As you get older, you may experience changes to your lifestyle that could lead you to need transportation or nutrition services. Talk with your health plan or provider about what services may be available in your community.
08 Understand the care available to you through your health plan. For example, many Medicare Advantage plans allow care to be tailored to the individual patient, which can help patients deal with their unique health challenges and meet specific care and treatment goals.