This course is designed to help you navigate the healthcare system, from understanding preventive care, to managing a new problem that requires evaluation to insurance issues. You don't need to have a doctor in your own family, we are here to help.
Disclaimer: The information in this course is intended to help you better understand the healthcare system, basic health issues, and to be better prepared to work with your healthcare team. It is not intended to be nor is it a replacement for medical advice or medical care. If you are having a medical emergency you should call 911 and for any other medical care, you should visit with your medical provider
Introduction, Screening Healthy People and Common Acute Medical Problems
This section will introduce you to the course, then cover what is included in an annual physical exam, how we decide which screening tests would be appropriate for each patient and how to prepare for an annual physical. We then cover the most common illnesses that bring people to a physician and how to prepare for those visits as well as what to expect.
Evaluating a new medical problem where the cause is not yet known
In this module we cover how to make sure your voice is heard, when seeking care for a problem that is difficult to diagnose. We will discuss when you should seek a specialist's advice, how to deal with referrals, why it's important to have an initial workup complete before seeing a specialist and when you should push to see a sub-specialist
This module covers all aspects of accessing care to include: Primary care, Specialty Care and Mental Health care. We will review how to find a provider, what types of provider arrangements there are, how to prepare for the visit to maximize your attention from the provider to help you resolve your issue and will generally touch on the role of different types of providers as well as the challenges of accessing mental health services and how to overcome them
Your eyes and your teeth are part of your body and directly affect your health, but for some reason are usually carved out as a separate part of healthcare by insurance companies. In this module we will cover how to prepare for these visits to understand what is being looked for and assessed and how to advocate for yourself in these spaces
This is a large module which will cover the basic things you need to know if you find yourself in the position of caring for someone else, such as a parent, to include some insurance and financial issues, advocating for their needs with providers, navigating when someone needs nursing care and end-of-life issues
This module helps to provide a better understanding of different types of insurance plans including Medicare and managed plans, reviews terminology such as deductibles and copays and discusses how insurance is managed in the hospital and surgical settings
Accessing primary care for new issues
This module reviews common issues that bring you to the doctor's office. Tips are provided for how to prepare for these visits and what kinds of questions to ask