COMPLIANCE ALERT: Making Better Health Care Decisions

It’s important to be an active participant in your health care. This can start with feeling empowered to effectively communicate with your doctors so you can make a collaborative, informed choice about your health care.

To be a better health care consumer, remember the acronym “PREPARED”:

• Procedure—What course of action is being suggested?
• Reason—What harm is your problem causing you?
• Expectation—What benefit(s) can you reasonably expect from the suggested plan?
• Probability—What are the odds that you will achieve those benefits?
• Alternatives—What other choices are available?
• Risks—What possible problems may occur?
• Expense—What about the costs? What will insurance cover?
• Decision—Do you have enough information for an informed choice?

If you don’t have enough information or feel confident in the procedure, hold off on making a final decision until you are PREPARED.