How to take responsibility for your own health (5 steps)

How to take responsibility for your own health (5 steps)

It’s really important to take responsibility for your own healthcare, especially if you’ve recently been diagnosed with a chronic disease, or have started long term medication.

Here are the five most important things to remember:

1. Follow your doctor’s advice

E.g. lifestyle advice like stopping smoking, reducing weight.

2. Get informed about your condition

What is the diagnosis, current and previous? Google them all, and educate yourself. Become an expert patient. Its your body.

Avoid phrases like ‘under the doctor’ – you are in charge too.

3. Know your treatment options

It is important to ask questions about treatment and its potentioal pros and cons. Ask your GP or consultant. 

• What are alternatives to the treatment you are recommending?
• What happens if I do nothing? Could my condition stabilise or even get better
• What would you do if you were me? Would you have this treatment?

Note. Ask for time to have a think about them, so you can do some research.

4. Contact details

What are your GPs and consultant’s names and how do you contact them? You need to know their name, phone number and email address (or of GP surgery or secretary).

5. Have a medical record, including your medications and allergies

Keep your own medical record summarising all of this information.

The more involved you are in your own care, the better your care will be. Doctors and nurses respond better to patients who help themselves!