Healthy Living Messages

• Be Physically Active
• Eat Wisely
• Strive for a Healthy Weight
• Get Recommended Screening Tests & Immunizations
• Be Involved in Your Health Care
• Be Tobacco Free
• Limit Alcohol
• Manage Stress
• Be Safe
  

Be Involved in Your Health Care

• Give your treatment team accurate and complete information about:
  • Your current health problems
  • Your concerns about your health
  • Past illnesses
  • Past hospitalizations
  • Your medicines, including over-the-counter and herbals
  • Other matters related to your health
• Plan ahead for your visits by writing down the questions and concerns you want to raise. Share them with your provider at the beginning of each visit.
• Share your ideas and beliefs about your health problems and treatments with your provider.
• Let your health care team know about stressful aspects of your life that affect your health and ability to manage daily activities.
• Participate in decisions about your health care and treatments with your provider.
• Let your provider know the treatment options you prefer.
• Ask questions about anything that's not clear to you.
• Speak up if you have any concerns about the care you are receiving or if you think something is wrong.
• Ask for written information and instructions that you can keep and share with your family or caregiver.
• Gather information about your health problems from your treatment team, the VA library, and websites such as My HealtheVet.
  • Know your medicines and why you take each one.
  • Ask when and how you will get results of any tests or treatments.
  • Make sure you have the name and telephone number of a person to call if you have a problem.
  • Let your team know if you face any obstacles to your care or if your condition changes.
  • Have a family member or friend come with you to your appointment to help you, if you wish.

More Information:

• Ask Me Three— Patient Information
  http://www.npsf.org/askme3*
• Speak Up: The Joint Commission Patient Safety Program
  http://www.jointcommission.org/speakup.aspx*
• My HealtheVet http://www.myhealth.va.gov
• New Health Partnerships
• Veterans Health Library (under development)
• Healthfinder: Take Charge of Your Health
  http://www.healthfinder.gov/prevention/ViewTopic.asp?topicId=78

* Indicates that the link leads to a non-VA website. The VA is not responsible for the content that is on the site.

Supporting Information:

Definitions:

• Veterans Health Education: In VHA, Veteranshealth education encompasses patient education and is defined as "any combination of information, education, and other strategies designed to help Veterans to:
• Enhance their quality of life through health promotion and disease prevention.
• Actively partner with their providers and health care teams.
• Engage needed family and social support systems.
• Develop self-management and coping skills.
• Access and appropriately utilize VHA healthcare resources across the continuum of care (access, health promotion and disease prevention, primary care, specialty care, diagnosis, treatment, self-management, inpatient care, rehabilitation and long-term care, and referral to VHA and community resources)."

VA Policy:

VHA Handbook 1102.04, Veterans Health Education and Information Core Program Requirements http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=2052

Source Documents:

1. Johnson BA, M; Conway, J; Simmons, L; Edgman-Levitan, S; Sodomka, P; Schlucter, J, Ford. Partnering with Patients and Families to Design a Patient- and Family-Centered Health Care System. 2008; April:
   http://www.ihi.org/NR/rdonlyres/C810CCBB-2DEB-4678-994A-57D9B703F98D/0/PartneringwithPatientsandFamiliesRecommendationsApr08.pdf.
2. Brody DS. The patient's role in clinical decision-making. Ann Intern Med. Nov 1980;93(5):718-722.
3. Kizer K. Journey of Change II. In: Affairs DoV, ed. Washington, DC: Veterans Health Administration; 1998.
4. Street RL, Jr., Makoul G, Arora NK, Epstein RM. How does communication heal? Pathways linking clinician-patient communication to health outcomes. Patient Educ Couns. Mar 2009;74(3):295-301.
5. Epstein RM, Franks P, Shields CG, et al. Patient-centered communication and diagnostic testing. Ann Fam Med. Sep-Oct 2005;3(5):415-421.
6. Schwartzberg JG, Cowett A, VanGeest J, Wolf MS. Communication techniques for patients with low health literacy: a survey of physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. Am J Health Behav. Sep-Oct 2007;31 Suppl 1:S96-104.
7. Clark NM, Cabana MD, Nan B, et al. The clinician-patient partnership paradigm: outcomes associated with physician communication behavior. Clin Pediatr (Phila). Jan 2008;47(1):49-57.