By Helen Cone

Jeanne Kennedy

Jeanne Kennedy, a consultant and former director of Community and Patient Relations at Stanford University Hospital, advised audience members at the May 16 Los Altos Morning Forum to be prepared for hospitalization by knowing their rights as a patient and insisting they be respected.

Her talk, “How to Be Your Own Health Advocate,” drew from her years of experience in patient advocacy at Stanford. Kennedy established the Stanford Health Library and numerous other programs to ease the stress of hospitalization.

If your medical condition requires hospitalization, be prepared. Recognize that you will feel that you are not fully in charge of your life and do what you can to reduce that. First, bring your Advance Directive for Health Care. Find out what your rights are as defined in policies set down from 1942 to 1977. Ask the hospital for this information.

According to Kennedy, patients are entitled the following: the name of the doctor in charge, written information regarding their condition, access to an interpreter if language is a barrier, appropriate pain medication, to be able to complain without retribution and to leave the hospital even if the doctor has not discharged them (with the exception of psychiatric or penal patients). Your bill also should be understandable.

Kennedy gave advice on selecting a primary physician and any necessary specialists. Set up interviews, evaluate the candidates and find out how they can be reached by telephone or e-mail. If you have doubts and want a second opinion, let them know. Ultimately, it is your choice.

Think about how much information you want. Some people don’t want any more than the doctor presents, but Kennedy encouraged patients to find out everything they can about their condition. Take notes and bring written questions when you go to the doctor. She encouraged bringing someone with you to do this if these steps are difficult for you.

What should you expect from your doctor? Kennedy said the doctor should treat you as a responsible adult, not as a child. You should not be called by your first name unless it is reciprocal. You should be free to ask for clarification if what is said is not clear.

The doctor should listen to you. A study of doctors’ interruptions of patients showed that a male doctor will redirect the patient’s concern in 47 seconds, a female doctor will listen for 3 minutes. In a controlled situation, the doctor did not interrupt the patient, and she talked for 20 minutes. She later told him with great appreciation, “You are the first doctor who listened to me.”

In choosing a hospital, make sure it provides a patient representative, she said. Check the hospital’s Web site for information. Know the name of the admitting doctor and the attending doctor; they are not necessarily the same person.

Morning Forum is a members-only lecture series held at Los Altos United Methodist Church. To get on a waiting list for membership, write to: Morning Forum, P.O. Box 274, Los Altos 94023-0274.