Take Charge

Mother’s Day kicks off National Women’s Health week. This is a time for individuals, families, communities and others to help and support women to learn how to achieve longer, healthier and safer lives.

At Californians for Patient Care, we’re not only focused on ensuring that people have access to high-quality affordable healthcare – check out MyHealthResource.org for free and low-cost clinics near you - we’re also focused on teaching you about how to take charge of your health.

National Women’s Health Week is a great way to start. Click on the links below for tips on living healthy and much more. Now’s the time to take action to enhance your health and your quality of life.

On Monday [April 1, 2013], a new state law took effect that requires physicians to notify women if they have dense breast tissue, which could be associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, KQED’s “State of Health” reports (Aliferis, “State of Health,” KQED, 3/29).

About the New Law

In September 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law a bill (SB 1538) — by former Sen.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Michael Lee knew he was still in bad shape when he left the hospital five days after emergency heart surgery. But he was so eager to escape the constant prodding and the roommate’s loud TV that he tuned out the nurses’ care instructions.

“I was really tired of Jerry Springer,” the New York man says ruefully. “I was so anxious to get out that it sort of overrode everything else that was going on around me.”

The holidays are over, and as we settle in for the long San Francisco winter, many of us find ourselves craving a little more sunlight. Is this our body’s way of telling us we need more vitamin D?

Most folks associate vitamin D deficiency with rickets, a disorder of calcification of bone in growing children. Rickets, a word that was possibly derived from the Old English wrikken, meaning “to twist,” emerged during the Industrial Revolution in northern Europe, where exposure to sunlight was limited by indoor lifestyle, narrow streets and dense smog from coal burning.

Celebrate the spirit of Independence Day by taking charge of your health

SACRAMENTO – July 1, 2011 – California consumers have healthcare rights that they may not be aware of, according to Californians for Patient Care, an independent nonprofit and patient advocate that connects consumers to affordable care. Exercising these rights may give patients greater control over their healthcare experiences and even improve their health.

No matter what type of Medicare coverage you have, you have certain guaranteed rights. 

Whether you are going to the hospital for an outpatient procedure or whether you will be admitted to the hospital for medical illness or surgical procedure, there are certain things you must know and certain things you must do in order to ensure that your reasonable expectations will be met.

1. You must become informed about the terms and limits of your health insurance policy. See if the fees you are being charged can be negotiated ahead of time. If you do not know the terms and limits of your policy, you will not know the financial field upon which you are playing, and the end result may be significantly displeasing to you.
2. Do not be afraid to ask questions of your doctor. By accepting you as a patient he or she has made a contract with you to provide you with the best possible care. This means that the doctor must make time to answer your questions. On the other hand, you must realize that doctors do not have much time in today’s medical environment owing to the system under which they currently work. Therefore, prepare a list of questions for the doctor each day, and set a time during the course of the day that you and the doctor can meet so that these questions can be answered. If possible, e-mail the questions to your doctor before hand.