Brochure helps patients make surgery decisions
April 1, 1996 2 minutes read
Brochure helps patients make surgery decisions
Patients have some guidance in evaluating their elective surgery with a newly released brochure from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research in Rockville, MD.
Be Informed: Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before You Have Surgery suggests 12 questions that patients should ask their surgeons or primary care physicians before scheduling surgery.
"A better-informed patient does better and is happier with outcomes after surgery," says Douglas Kamerow, MD, director of the clinical practice guideline program for the agency.
Kamerow, who is a family physician, says these are questions he'd like his patients to ask him or their surgeons "so they know what's happening." They include:
* What operation are you recommending?
* Why do I need the operation?
* Are there alternatives to surgery?
* What are the benefits of having the operation?
* What are the risks of having the operation?
* What if I don't have this operation?
* Where can I get a second opinion?
* What has been your experience in doing the operation?
* Where will the operation be done?
* What kind of anesthesia will I need?
* How long will it take me to recover?
* How much will the operation cost?
Although the brochures are intended for patients to use when meeting with their physicians before scheduling surgery, surgery centers or hospitals may want to make additional copies available or provide them to referring physicians, Kamerow says.
To order a free copy of the brochure, contact the AHCPR Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 8547, Silver Spring, MD 20907. Telephone: (800) 358-9295. InstantFax: (301) 594-2800.
To order bulk copies ($11 for a pack of 20) from the U.S. Government Printing Office, contact the Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250. Telephone: (202) 512-1800. Fax: (202) 512-2250. *
* Measuring Financial Performance Under Capitation. April 18-19, Philadelphia. Sponsored by Global Business Research Ltd. For more information, contact John Gibb, Marketing Manager, Global Business Research Ltd., 151 W. 19th St., Eighth Floor, New York, NY 10019. Telephone: (212) 645-4226. Fax: (212) 645-4490.
* Real Solutions for the Continuum of Care. May 5-8, Orlando, FL. Sponsored by the Society for Ambulatory Care Professionals (SACP), this combines the SACP annual meeting and the SACP/American Hospital Association (AHA) Hospital Home Care Symposium. For more information, contact Angela Jimenez, SACP/AHA, 1 North Franklin, Chicago, IL 60606. Telephone: (312) 422-3906. Fax: (312) 422-4577. *
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