{"id":10194,"date":"2018-01-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-12T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeline.philips.com\/resources\/blog\/2017\/01\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents.html"},"modified":"2023-10-13T09:18:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T13:18:13","slug":"5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>More and more healthcare providers and insurers are spending more time focusing on the patient and their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/how-family-caregiving-is-changing\/\">family caregivers<\/a>. Here\u2019s how you can use this shift to get more from the healthcare system for your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/calculating-the-costs-of-caring-for-aging-parents-in-your-home\/\">aging parent<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Tips for Managing Healthcare<\/h2>\n<h3>Tip #1: Use Email and Apps<\/h3>\n<p>Realizing caregivers\u2019 reliance on mobile apps and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/technology-for-caregivers-whats-on-the-horizon-and-gadgets-available-now\/\">digital communications<\/a>, \u201chealth systems have responded with patient portals for electronic communication and record review,\u201d says Andrew Duxbury, professor of the Division of Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMost boomers and younger who are used to email are now using it more and more to communicate and coordinate with physicians and other health care providers for the elders in their families.\u201d Use these cloud-based options to schedule appointments, check test results, request prescription refills, and communicate with the care team.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 40px;\"><b>Action Step:<\/b> Complete a HIPAA release form to enable the care team to speak with you about your parent\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n<h3>Tip #2: Share Your Knowledge<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cMake a list of all the things you see going on with parent \u2014 everything that concerns you \u2014 and share that with the doctor,\u201d advises Richard M. Dupee, clinical professor of medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine and chief of the Geriatrics Service at Tufts Medical Center. \u201cThis helps the doctor to focus on kinds of issues that make a difference in quality of life for your parent, not just cholesterol and blood pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 40px;\"><b>Action Step:<\/b> If you accompany your parent, ask for additional time when you make the appointment. Otherwise, arrange to email your thoughts and discuss via phone.<\/p>\n<h3>Tip #3: Integrate Technology<\/h3>\n<p>From wearables that track activity and vital signs to interactive systems that transmit critical data to healthcare providers and send reminders to seniors, patient-focused technology\u00a0helps your parent remain more independent. Many connected healthcare devices are covered by insurance or eligible for tax deductions.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 40px;\"><b>Action Step:<\/b> Investigate technology like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/medical-alert-systems\/\">medical alert systems<\/a>, medication dispensing systems and other options.<\/p>\n<h3>Tip #4: Request a Second Opinion<\/h3>\n<p>It may feel disrespectful, but another viewpoint is especially important when you don\u2019t get a straightforward diagnosis or when it has a big impact on your parent\u2019s quality of life. You can also ask for second opinion when a treatment is experimental, \u201coff-label,\u201d or risky. Don\u2019t worry that the physician will take this personally, Dupee counsels: \u201cGood internists will say \u2018of course.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Tip #5: Negotiate Costs<\/h3>\n<p>It might surprise you that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-ways-to-reduce-the-financial-and-emotional-cost-of-caring-for-aging-parents\/\">costs<\/a> for medical procedures vary widely from facility to facility and state to state. Negotiating \u2014 even if your parent has terrific insurance \u2014 can help reduce co-pays and other out-of-pocket expenses.<\/p>\n<p>These ideas could help you take advantage of new opportunities for managing healthcare for aging parents.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents. You can read more useful articles and advice on our blog.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,46,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caregiving","category-lifestyle","category-smart-spending"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v26.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents | Lifeline<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents. You can read more useful articles and advice on our blog.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents. You can read more useful articles and advice on our blog.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lifeline\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LifelineMedicalAlertService\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-12T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-10-13T13:18:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Man-woman-looking-at-document.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1254\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"836\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Bastin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Bastin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Andrew Bastin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/#\/schema\/person\/50ab178d15853031ee06af6ad13f46e5\"},\"headline\":\"5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-12T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-13T13:18:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/\"},\"wordCount\":457,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Man-woman-looking-at-document.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Caregiving\",\"Lifestyle\",\"Smart Spending\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/\",\"name\":\"5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents | Lifeline\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/blog\/5-tips-for-managing-healthcare-for-aging-parents\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.lifeline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Man-woman-looking-at-document.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-12T05:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-10-13T13:18:13+00:00\",\"description\":\"5 Tips for Managing Healthcare for Aging Parents. 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