Signature Service
BENEFITS
Feedback from clients and families has taught us that attendance, advocacy, and consultation before, during, and after, health care appointments may be our most helpful service. We refer to this as our signature service. We prepare the older adult and family for the appointment, we make sure their interests are well served during the visit, and we follow through after the visit. Health care visits today tend to be complex undertakings that challange even the most well informed consumer, no matter the age.
Older adults may attend health care visits by themselves for a variety of reasons. Adult children or other close family members frequently live at a distance or may be working or ill. In Georgia, thousands of older adults who need care themselves are also caring for their ill or disabled adult children. One doesn’t need to be a health care professional to know what happens (or doesn’t happen) when older adults visit health care providers alone.
We find that many older adults may
not remember the appointment (or elect to skip the appointment!)
arrive at the visit without eye glasses or hearing aid(s) (or with a dead battery)
not take ALL their medications from ALL health care providers to the visit
not know (or remember) that herbals may interact with other drugs and should also be taken to the visit)
not have accurate recall (younger folks often don’t have accurate recall!)
not recognize or report medication side effects or interactions
worry about losing their independance and don’t report what’s really going on at home
take herbals or dietary supplements and don’t think to report them
not get their questions answered–or don’t ask them
not take notes during the visit, and perhaps most important
not advocate for themselves
HOW WE DO IT
There are many benefits to having a registered nurse involved in the health care visit. For example, we
request other medical records and make sure they arrive in time for the visit
consult with the provider about what’s really going on at home
make sure both the provider’s and older adult’s questions and concerns are addressed
evaluate the medical record for accuracy and completeness
ask pertinent questions about the disease process, medications, and diagnostic studies
consult with the provider and pharmacist about medications, side effects, and interactions
discuss the ability to pay for health care services including expensive medications
disucss the provider’s findings and future plans
AFTER THE VISIT
The older adult also benefits after the visit. The older adult and designated others receive full explanation and education regarding the visit including the provider’s findings, diagnoses, diagnostic studies, the disease process, medications, and the provider’s plans.
We follow up on diagnostic studies and results to make sure they don’t fall between the cracks. If new drugs were prescribed we closely monitor for side effects and interactions, communicating with the provider as indicated. We discuss the family’s questions and concerns with the provider. Last, if the visit involved new diagnoses, tests, or medications, we coordinate this with other providers.
By the way, the phrase health care visits refers to far more than the standard medical visit to a health care provider (i.e. physician or nurse practitioner). When we refer to health care visits, we mean, for example, physical therapy, dentistry, occupational therapy,
wound care centers, and medical music therapy. Other examples include support groups, accupuncture, rehab, speech/language therapy, nutrition therapy, and pharmacy consultation.