Tips for navigating healthcare of your parent(s)

Firstly, Healthcare in the United States is not easy. Having 'choices' is not easy. You've heard of the phrase "paralysis by analysis" before? If that phrase is new, it means when you have too many choices, the decision-making process can actually be more difficult. It's called Decision Fatigue and it's real. Here is a good article about it - https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/decision-fatigue/.

Humans do better with a couple of choices, not 1000s. The research is clear, the more decisions we have to make, the dumber we get. In a typical day, in fact, the research shows the fewer important, consequential decisions you have to make, the better. It's why Steve Jobs always wore the same outfit -- he didn't want to have to decide what to wear.

So how does this fit in with taking care of a parent? If you are doing what I'm doing, in managing your family's and your parent's healthcare needs, then take note of the following 5 tips and make the decision of who to see easier. And this is just to select a health care provider:

1. REVIEWS MATTER. Take the time to read up on the doctor or specialist you are considering. Be a little bit of a stalker and look up Google Reviews, Healthgrades rating, Sharecare rating, WebMD, etc. The point is, the reviews matter. Read them. It will take just a few minutes. You might see a 5 star reviews here and there. That's fine. Look for the most common reviews, though. Anyone who has less than 4.5 stars consistently, be suspicious. The dermatologist I took my dad to was a nightmare. I didn't look up her ratings until after the fact. Her consistent rating was most commonly a 3.7. Should've been a red flag.

2. CALL THE OFFICE. In this day and age of everything being done online or over your phone, do yourself a favor: don't (in this situation). Call the office you intend to take your parent to. Consider it part of the interview process. How do they treat you? How long are you on hold, if at all? What is the attitude like of the person answering? Are you transferred? Is the person able to answer simple questions? All important details for consideration.

3. HAVE QUESTIONS READY. Prepare for the call with a modest list of questions. During the height of COVID craziness and paranoia, I would always ask about my ability to join the visit: "Can I go in with my dad during the visit?"

* Which insurance(s) do you take?

* What is the process to reach the doctor if we have a question?

* Locations available to see the doctor (there may be satellite locales)?

* How long will the visit take?

* Hours of operation?

The reason to ask the questions is because the information on Google could be incorrect. Even website data could be off, so don't always trust it.

It's okay to double-check key information and, in my experience, it's worth

the effort.

4. TAKE NOTES. If deciding between two or more options for a doctor, take some notes. Write down the names of people you speak with. They will come in handy in the future. Make a note of how the call went. Again, you might need the information later, and trying to keep straight information such as location, hours available, insurances accepted,