PATIENT2PATIENT NEWSLETTER
November 2003

Please visit our Web site at: www.Patient2Patient.net


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In This Issue:

* From the Director
* Quotation of the Month
* Alzheimer's WebGuide Now Available!
* Sponsorships
* Feature Article: Emergency Room Checklist
* Humor


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
~ From the Director ~

As a patient, there is almost no experience more frustrating than
coming out of an important meeting with a doctor with your questions
unanswered or feeling confused.

It may take weeks until you can get your questions answered and in the
meantime you are left with uncertainty and doubt.

Sometimes in meeting with doctors, when faced with bad or difficult news,
we become like a deer in the headlights - we glaze over and can't think of
what to ask or to say.

And sometimes we don't even know the questions to ask. And it is only later,
when problems arise, that we begin to understand the issues.

Basically, without asking the right questions we lose a critical opportunity
to make informed treatment decisions for ourselves. Yet we are the ones who
live with the consequences of these critical decisions.

Last month we made available to WebGuide subscribers the first of our Best
Patient Practices Guides - "The Ten Most Important Questions To Ask Your
Doctor." The response to this guide has been terrific. I urge you to download
and review these questions before your next doctor's visit. Compiled from
the experiences of other patients and the advice of doctors, nurses and
alternative practitioners, they represent the most important questions
that patients often fail to ask or don't know to ask.

Current subscribers can access and download a copy of this Guide by
clicking on the "Subscribers" button on our Home Page (www.Patient2Patient.net).
Log in and enter your password on the Subscribers page just as you do to
download your regular WebGuide. The "The Ten Most Important Questions
To Ask Your Doctor" is available in both Word and Adobe Acrobat (pdf)
format.

In addition, this newsletter contains some valuable tips for what to
take along during hospital emergency room visits. We've published this
checklist before. But after many requests, we are re-publishing an
updated version that you'll find below in our feature article section.
Don't miss it!

Be well,

Andrew Robinson, J.D.
Executive Director
Patient2Patient

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 ~ Quotation of the Month ~

"Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him."
 James Allen

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
~ Alzheimer's WebGuide ~

Our ALZHEIMER'S WEBGUIDE is now available! You can order a one-year
subscription to the Alzheimer's WebGuide from our Home Page -
www.Patient2Patient.net by clicking on "Alzheimer's disease" in the scroll
down menu.

The Alzheimer's WebGuide has over 200 interactive pages containing the best
Web site information and resources for Alzheimer's patients and caregivers.
It's organized into more than twenty topic areas, including sites offering
the latest news and treatment information on Alzheimer's and valuable
caregiver resources.

Coming Soon - Our Epilepsy and Diabetes WebGuides.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
~ Sponsorships ~

Ideally, we'd like to create a WebGuide for every existing disease. So if
you know of an individual, organization or group that may be interested in
sponsoring a Patient2Patient WebGuide, please contact Andrew Robinson,
Executive Director at Sponsorship@patient2patient.net. You'll be helping
thousands of patients in need of critical and credible health information.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

~ Feature Article: "Emergency Room Checklist" ~

Anyone experiencing an acute or severe chronic illness will typically need
to rush off to the Emergency Room at one point or another. For instance, a
fever that spikes during the night may require immediate blood and urine tests.
Whether the symptoms turn out to be serious or not, going to the ER is always
an alarming and tiresome experience.

Below is a checklist of what to do and bring if you have time. In case of
emergency, however, DO NOT DELAY. Just go.

CALL YOUR DOCTOR.  Advise him/her that you are going to the ER.  Your
physician should call the ER to notify the admitting staff that you are
coming and to get the name of a contact person - a doctor or nurse --
whom you may ask for upon arrival.

CALL A FRIEND.  Do not go to the ER alone. For numerous reasons you may need
some personal support as well as an advocate with you.

BRING INSURANCE OR PAYMENT INFORMATION.  Bring your insurance card and a credit
card (preferably not a bank cash card) in case you encounter insurance
questions or problems.

BRING NECESSARY MEDICATIONS.  Bring 48 hours worth of all your prescription
drugs. Even though you are going to a hospital, you can't count on receiving
timely medications in the ER, where things are rushed, the staff is not
prepared for your special needs, and a doctor's order is needed to distribute
anything. If you check into the hospital, it may still take a day or two to
get your correct medications in a timely manner. However, once you are at
the hospital do not take any of your usual medications without first
consulting the staff doctor.

BRING SOME MONEY.  Bring at least $20 in small bills and change for the pay
phones and vending machines. However, if you check into the hospital for
a stay, we don't recommend bringing a large sum of money with you. Theft
can occur even at the best hospitals.

BRING EXTRA CLOTHING.  Bring a sweater, sweatshirt or jacket, even in summer.
Emergency rooms are notorious for being frigidly air-conditioned during
the summer. Then in winter, the large, automatic doors routinely let gusts
of freezing air into the waiting area.

CHOOSE WHOM YOU SIT NEXT TO.  Aside from blasts of cold air, one of your
biggest concerns during an ER wait is catching someone else's illness.
Many people -- especially children - are often there because of respiratory
infections, including strep throat and pneumonia. Try to find an isolated
area to sit in and ask the desk nurse for a medical filter mask.

BRING SUNGLASSES OR A HAT.  Really. You may be lying on an emergency room
bed for hours, staring up at the fluorescent fixtures. Blocking this light
will provide some relief and perhaps help you rest.

BRING FOOD AND DRINK.  Bring along some fruit, bottled water, a cup and
straw. There may not be any food available or you may not want to consume
what is there -- such as vending machine food. The straw comes in handy
if you're lying in bed.

BRING READING MATERIAL AND MUSIC.  Need we say more?

BRING ITEMS FOR A HOSPITAL STAY.  If you have time, and you think you will
be admitted to the hospital directly from the ER, pack some pajamas, a robe
and slippers.

Remember, all these suggestions are to help, and NOT delay, your trip to
the Emergency Room. The most important thing is to GET TO THE HOSPITAL in
a timely manner.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Humor

A friend of mine, not too bright, read in the newspaper that most
automobile accidents happen within 5 miles of your house - so he moved!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Feel Good!

The Staff of Patient2Patient

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
We welcome your comments about this newsletter and our WebGuides -
Feedback@patient2patient.net.

(c) Copyright 2003 Patient2Patient, LLC.  You are welcome to forward
this issue to someone you know, in its entirety (without cutting).