Latest / Talking FACS / Save Money, Stay Healthy

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Save Money, Stay Healthy · Talking FACS

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  Welcome to Talking FACS, what you need to know about family,
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  food, finance, and fitness.
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  This nationally recognized, award-winning podcast is hosted by the University
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  of Kentucky Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program.
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  Our educators share research knowledge with individuals, families,
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  and communities to improve quality of life.
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  If you are looking for a way to save a little money, maybe you need to consider
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  how your health care practices affect your bottom line.
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  Welcome to MoneyWise on Talking FACS, your go-to source for practical tips
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  that help you stretch your dollars and support your well-being.
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  I am your host, Mindy McCulley, Extension Specialist for Instructional Support
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  with Family and Consumer Sciences Extension.
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  From preventive care and vaccines to taking medications as directed and knowing
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  where to go for care, small choices can make a big difference in both your health and your budget.
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  My guest, Leslie Frame, Extension Specialist for Family and Consumer Sciences
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  and Excite Health Agent,
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  is going to help us explore simple, smart strategies to help you avoid surprise
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  medical bills and build healthier habits that pay off over time.
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  Welcome, Leslie. I'm so glad you're here.
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  Thank you, Mindy. I am, too. So before we dive into the topic,
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  will you just share a little bit about what EXCITE is?
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  I'd be glad to. So EXCITE is a national program.
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  It works through all of our land-grant universities, but the moniker stands
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  for Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement.
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  So we focus on helping our local clientele and our county agents with health
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  literacy, especially in the areas of vaccine confidence.
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  That's perfect. So let's get started on visiting how to talk to your doctor.
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  What are some things that we
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  really need to keep in mind as we maybe even before we go to the doctor?
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  Well, you know, this sounds very simple, but how many times have you ever been
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  to the doctor and you've left and you thought, oh, I didn't tell them about
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  this condition or a change in a medication or there's so many things that happen.
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  And, you know, a lot of times our physicians and our medical team is pressed
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  for time. So we feel that sense of urgency to get through the appointment efficiently.
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  And oftentimes we miss something. But, you know,
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  We have to be our own health care advocates, and those are, we're paying for the time to be there.
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  So we want to make sure that you get the most out of your appointment. Exactly.
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  So we've got five easy steps. Let's just start with step one.
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  We're going to go through that. So the first one, this is going to sound a little
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  silly, but it's to remember.
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  What are some of the things that you always have to take with you to the doctor?
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  You know, they always ask for your prescriptions.
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  Sometimes if you're seeing the new doctor, you want your health history.
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  You know, all of those things that you think you know until somebody asks.
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  But also things like our identification, our health insurance,
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  because they always ask you, how's your health insurance? Exactly.
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  You know, sometimes as we age, maybe our vision isn't fantastic.
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  I could not see to fill out forms if I did not have my glasses.
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  What we would call assistive devices, so things like eyeglasses,
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  hearing aids, and sometimes even an extra person.
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  If you have someone in your life who is, that you trust, that you want to take
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  along to help you either fill out forms or to be a second set of ears when you're
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  talking to the medical team.
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  I remember some of these visits with my mother-in-law many years ago,
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  and now I'm feeling like, oh, it really would be beneficial to have another set of ears with me now.
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  Yes, because, you know, that's important to, because everybody hears things
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  a little bit differently.
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  That way we can communicate on what we offer. Yes, exactly. So what's the next step?
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  So the next step is having a sort of rehearsed two-minute health history.
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  You're seeing a new physician, you might need to list things like surgeries
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  that you've had or complications, things like that.
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  But if you're just going for a regular visit and let's say you have a new skin condition,
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  this is a perfect time to sort of hit the highlights and have some notes ready
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  so that you can explain that in a very efficient way. to your medical team.
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  And that's perfect because sometimes whatever condition you're being seen for,
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  it might be two weeks after it emerges that you actually get your visit.
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  So you might not remember what it felt like.
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  Yes, and don't be afraid to take photographs. Like if you have,
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  you know, something pop up, maybe a mole or something that you need to have
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  looked at, take a photograph of it.
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  And that's perfect to share at your visit in addition to any numbers.
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  So if it's a, say it's blood sugar or blood pressure, if you can take a log
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  of that along with you, it's very helpful to the medical team to be able to,
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  you know, determine maybe what's been happening.
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  And in this day and age where everything is online, we think that they have
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  that at their fingertips.
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  But sometimes it's not something that they can readily access.
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  And if you give it to them, then that's even better.
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  Next step. So the next step is words.
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  And that really talks about repeating back what you heard.
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  You know, most of us are not in the medical profession. Some of us are, but most of us are not.
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  When we visit our physicians, sometimes they may give us instructions or use
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  terminology that we're not familiar with.
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  And it's very important that you understand exactly what's being said to you
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  and clarify any questions that you have.
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  So, I would recommend saying something like, so let me give this back to you
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  and make sure I understand. And, you know, that's another thing.
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  Sometimes you'll see PRN on your medications and like,
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  What does that mean? And if you don't know that it means as needed,
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  you might take that medication more frequently than you should be.
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  Exactly. And that brings up a good point. Make sure that you include your pharmacist
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  as part of your medical team.
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  And oftentimes, if you have a medication that you need some clarification about,
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  they are the go-to because generally they have a little more time.
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  But they are really experts in that. So don't overlook your pharmacist as someone
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  that you can include in your medical team.
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  That's exactly right. so now we're on step four what is step four? Step number
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  four four stands for forms I've never gone to the doctor and not had to fill
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  out usually a lot of that is true.
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  The last time I went to the dentist, they handed me an iPad, which sort of threw me.
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  I mean, I feel like I'm pretty tech savvy, but I was not expecting to have to
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  use a technical device to update my information.
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  And it made me think about, you know, someone who may be visually impaired or
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  maybe didn't have the right person with them, how difficult that could be to fill out. Exactly.
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  And then we're on step five.
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  How do we wrap it up? So, number five, if you take your hand and hold it up,
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  put your fingers together and turn it over, this stands for taking your medication. Ah, okay.
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  Yes. So, that's really just to remind us to take our medication as prescribed
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  and also to not forget to tell your medical team about any over-the-counter things that you take,
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  maybe vitamins or supplements, because those could interact with prescription
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  medications in a way that maybe we didn't expect.
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  So it's important that you share all of that information. Yeah,
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  everything that goes in your mouth needs to be on that chart, right?
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  We've had discussions lately about the electronic medical records.
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  Here at the University of Kentucky, we use MyChart, which is fantastic.
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  And it shows you all of your test results and all of your prescription medications.
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  But you know maybe you go somewhere that they don't have that it's still important
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  to keep a written record everything that you take and keep that updated and
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  if you do have something like my chart then you can print it out from there
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  you don't have to sit down and write it all out.
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  And that does make life a little bit easier before we wrap up do you have any
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  clarifying statements or anything else you want to add to what we've said today,
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  We've talked a lot about how to communicate well with your doctor.
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  What we didn't talk about is another important component, and that could be vaccinations.
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  We recommend that you speak with your physician about what vaccinations are right for you.
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  We have a segment of the population that maybe has a lot of chronic disease.
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  So, you know, I'm thinking of people with diabetes or heart disease,
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  things like that, that may have different vaccination needs than the general population.
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  So whether you're what I call a little, you know, a preschooler or a baby all
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  the way up to the very aged, we have different needs for vaccinations.
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  And whatever recommendations that you have from your physician are probably best for you.
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  But it's important to make sure that you include that in your conversations
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  with your medical team so that you have the right information to have better health. Exactly.
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  And I have a couple of websites that I want to give you. So did you know that
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  here in Kentucky, you could find your vaccination record online?
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  That is something that is useful if you are an adult who can't remember when they have had them.
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  Or if you moved out of state and you need to get access to those things.
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  So I came into Kentucky many, many years ago, but I did not have my childhood vaccinations here.
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  So I looked at my own record. Those are not on there, but everything that I've
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  had as an adult is on there.
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  So if you just do an internet search for KYIR, which is Kentucky Immunization Record,
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  then you can find their public portal and you very easily can find your own
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  vaccination information, as well as anybody in your family that you need to look up.
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  Like if you're not sure which vaccinations your children have had,
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  that information is on there. And we will link that website in our show notes
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  so that you can easily click and find that information that you need.
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  The other website that I want to share is if you're unsure where you can get
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  a vaccination, you can search vaccinefinder.org.
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  All you have to do is put in your zip code and it will show you every pharmacy
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  or site in your local zip code where you can find a vaccine.
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  Sometimes there's confusion about what vaccines are paid for.
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  And like, for instance, the health departments don't give flu vaccines, usually to adults.
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  At no cost, except in the fall when they do their flu campaign.
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  So if you need help getting vaccines paid for or finding where to get them,
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  vaccinefinder.org is the place to go. And we will also link that.
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  Leslie, I appreciate your time today. It's been an informative and useful conversation.
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  Thank you for tuning in to MoneyWi$e on Talking FACS. This month's takeaway,
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  small health habits like checkups, using the right care setting and following
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  instructions can help prevent bigger, more expensive problems later.
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  And join us again when we'll share more tips to help you live well and spend smart.
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  You can find our shows on all major podcast platforms.
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  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension is in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture,
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  Food and Environment at the University of Kentucky.
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  Thank you for listening to Talking FACS. We deliver programs focusing on nutrition,
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  health, resource management, family development, and civic engagement.
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  If you enjoyed today's podcast, have a question or a show topic idea,
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  leave a like and a comment on Facebook at UKFCSEXT or send us an email at UKFCSEX@UKY.edu.
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  Visit us online at fcs.uky.edu to learn more about the University of Kentucky
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  Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Program or contact your local Extension
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  Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.
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  We build strong families. We build Kentucky. It starts with us.