Page 31 - Tonilee & Bobbye Social Media Special Edition Oct Nov 2011 (1)

A guide for family, friends and loved ones in

preparing for the effects of the growing elder

population …a Public Service from “Those Who Care”
" The Right Doctor for Your Elder”

Q: Where do I start in choosing the right doctor for my mother/father? made in a vacuum, rather with the total person's needs in mind.
For those of us who grew up in the 60's and 70's, it seems that our
world has become very specialized. For example, when I was playing When seeking out a physician appropriate for your elder loved one,
basketball we had a choice of two sneakers: Keds or Converse. And keep in mind the suggestions offered by Viki Kind, a bioethicist and
with those two choices there were only two color choices: black or author:
white. • Ask a nurse who knows of or has worked with the doctor.
• Ask for a reference from another trusted healthcare provider.
This past Holiday Season, I went to a mall (not my favorite place) to • Check the doctor's credentials online at a source such as http://www.
look for a pair of pink, high-top, Converse sneakers for my 12 year healthgrades.com/.
old daughter. There must have been half-a-dozen stores that offered • Observe how the doctor interacts with your loved-one. The doctor
the shoes and every color of the rainbow was available. Oh, how a should speak "to, not about" your parent. The doctor should connect
few short decades have made such a huge difference in our shopping with, not ignore your parent.
habits. • Test the doctor to see if he'd respect your parent's wishes. Take your
parent's Advance Directives to the doctor and ask if he/she will be able
Variety has provided us the option of selecting just the right product to respect and implement end-of-life wishes.
or service for our particular needs - not a bad thing, though many of • If your parent has strong cultural or religious views, it may be helpful
us old timers would rather go back to the "good old days." Yet, do to select a doctor of that particular religious sect.
we care nearly as much about our health care choices as we do our In today's myriad of choices for selecting an eldercare physician,
sneakers? Of course, I'm being facetious, but the point is still well rep- spend the time to review the needs and concerns of your elder loved-
resented - we need to recognize the many choices in health care (i.e., one, and then make a choice that best fits those needs. As much as we
physicians) just as we do our shopping choices for clothes. "old timers" proclaim that the world was such better place to live when
we were young, today's world does have its advantages - use those
A: This need to be aware of our health care choices is never as ap- choices for your better health.
parent as it is in the choice for a physician for our
elders. For years and years, our parents or loved-
ones visited with "their" doctor, who was most likely
a congenial man (not as many female doctors "back
in the day") who they may have played golf with on
Wednesday afternoons.

Times have changed. Choices have improved in all
walks of life. Yet, I would guess that most elder folks San Diego
are still seeing, as their primary physician, the same Woman
GP or Internist that they've been visiting for decades.
Although there is nothing inherently wrong with
that choice, it does eliminate the wonderful world of
specialists. 31
Why seek out a specialist? Quite simply: To avail
ourselves of a physician who can do the most good
for our loved-one is the logical choice when trying to
treat an illness - the greater the specialty, the greater
the chance of resolving that particular problem. For
example, you are concerned that your mom may be
developing some form of dementia, so you take her
to see her long-time friend and physician, who has
been an Internist for over 35 years. What do you
think the chances are that this physician will run a
battery of tests or refer your mom to a specialist, like
a geriatric psychiatrist, to determine the degree of ex- 44 Professional Gloves is the premier baseball custom glove manufacturer that believes a professional
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on reviewing the presenting facts that may lead to a any color you choose.
more accurate diagnosis, either for or against that So join the many others out there who have selected 44 Pro Gloves
of dementia. The point: today's variety of choices, to be their custom made baseball glove manufacturer.
although at times mind boggling, can lead to greater
satisfaction and positive outcomes compared to the Check out 44 Pro Gloves at:
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The need for a specialized physician who un-
derstands the elder population has come of age.
Geriatricians are beginning to make their way into
mainstream medical care, and thank goodness for
that trend as we have desperately needed a fresh,
holistic approach to treating our elder folks.
Geriatricians are trained to not only understand the
medical needs of the senior patient, but to also view
the entire person so that medical choices are not