Beneficiaries and Families

    Beneficiaries and Families

Helpful Tools for Patients

The most recent issue of our Healthy Seniors Newsletter is all about improving transitions of care, and includes lots of great information to help you make sure you are getting the care you need when you change from one setting of care to another.

A Personal Health Record is a tool for you to use to better self-manage important health information, including health history, medical conditions, medications, allergies and recent hospital and doctor visits. The tool is available in English and Spanish. You should work with your doctor or caregiver to fill out the form.

Medication Golden Rules gives you the tips and questions you’ll need to make sure you understand the medications you’re taking and to keep track of your current medications and any changes that are made to the plan.

Hospital Discharge Golden Rules provides tips for communication with your primary care doctor when you are hospitalized and helps you to be involved in your discharge plan before leaving the hospital.

Ask Me 3 is a program developed by the National Patient Safety Institute to prompt better patient communication with their physicians. This patient-focused article will help you remember to ask three key questions during your care.

"Managing Your Congestive Heart Failure" shows the important facts about heart failure that you need to understand.

Helpful Resources for Caregivers

The Medicare Web page for caregivers offers a wide variety of tools and helpful information to help caregivers work through their loved one’s episode of care.

Questions are the Answer emphasizes the importance of asking questions during physician appointments. The website offers "The 10 questions you should know" and links to guides for developing additional questions. The website has patient scenario videos that explain the importance of asking questions and how a question can begin a discussion with your physician which leads to a better understanding on how their chronic illness can be better managed.

Next Step in Care provides easy-to-use guides to help family caregivers and healthcare providers work closely together to plan and implement safe and smooth transitions for chronically or seriously ill patients.

The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) educates, supports, empowers and speaks up for the more than 65 million Americans who care for loved ones with a chronic illness or disability or the frailties of old age. NFCA reaches across the boundaries of diagnoses, relationships and life stages to help transform family caregivers’ lives by removing barriers to health and well-being.

Hard Choices is a site that offers information and education on the difficult process of making end of life choices for loved ones.

The New York State Senior Action Council is a resource for seniors and their families that provide information on accessing services and answering questions related to insurance coverage. The group advocates on a legislative level on issues that are of interest to seniors.