October 26, 2016 The Skanner Page 9 Health & Wellness: Senior Health How to Prepare for a Doctor’s Appointment: A Guide for Seniors your appointment and leave space so you can write down anything you learn. By Joseph Badolato, DO, Medical Director, FamilyCare Health E veryone’s been there: You spend days thinking about your appointment with your doctor. But when the day finally ar- rives, you feel rushed and leave with unan- swered questions. Hav- ing a basic plan for a doc- tor’s appointment can help reduce any feelings of anxiety and also make sure you get the most out of your visit. Here are four sugges- tions to help your op- timize your time with your doctor. By following these basic tips, you’ll get the most out of your vis- it and have less anxiety Tip 2: Bring Important Info When you see your doctor, bring all of your prescription medica- tions, over-the-counter drugs, and supplements. Also, remember your insurance card and any medical records from the past year. These should Dr. Joseph Badolato about it leading up to the appointment. Tip 1: Make a List Write down all the things you’d like to dis- cuss with your doctor. Prioritize your list from most important to least so you make sure to cov- er the things that are most pressing to you. Bring the list with you to Health Care cont’d from pg 8 with consumers. CLINTON: She has pro- posed a new tax credit of up to $5,000 per family, or $2,500 for an individ- ual, for households that face “excessive” out-of- pocket costs. The credit would be refundable, meaning that people who don’t owe income tax could still get money back. An independent analysis of her plan de- fined “excessive” costs as AP PHOTO/ EVAN VUCCI AP PHOTO/ANDREW HARNIK DRUGS More than half of U.S. adults take prescription drugs, and according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll most of those patients report no major problems afford- ing their own medica- tions. But consumers have been alarmed by the introduction of break- through drugs costing tens of thousands of dol- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during an campaign event with employees at Trump National Doral, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016, in Miami. exceeding 5 percent of household income. Clinton would also re- quire insurers to cover three sick visits to the doctor each year without patients needing first to meet their plan’s deduct- ible, the annual amount patients pay before their insurance kicks in. TRUMP: He has no similar proposals on out- of-pocket expenses but has called for requiring hospitals, clinics and doctors to disclose pric- es so patients can shop around to reduce costs. And he would expand the use of tax-sheltered health savings accounts, used to pay for medical expenses not covered by insurance. PRESCRIPTION Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at a rally at Broward College in Coconut Creek, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2016. lars a year, along with a spate of seemingly ran- dom price hikes for older medications. More than 3 out of 4 say the cost of prescription drugs is un- reasonable. A majority favors government ac- tion to curb costs. CLINTON: She has sev- eral proposals, includ- ing a new government board with the power to penalize drug com- panies for “unjustified, outlier price increases,” a monthly limit of $250 on patients’ copayments for prescription drugs, lowering the period of protection from generic competition for biologic drugs from 12 years to 7 years, and requiring drug companies to pro- vide rebates for medica- tions used by low-income Medicare recipients. include any notes about any recent illness, oper- ation, or condition plus contact information for the doctors who treated you. Tip 3: Check Your Understanding It’s not only important that you get to ask your questions. You also need to really understand the answers you receive. If you don’t fully compre- hend what your doctor is saying, ask for clarifi- cation. If you regularly use glasses or hearing aids, make sure you bring these with you. If you want, you can always ask your doctor to speak more slowly or explain something further. friend who will be join- ing you, letting them know what you want to get out of the visit. Your friend can remind you if you forget something and can take notes about what the doctor says. Tip 4: Invite a Friend Two sets of ears and eyes are better than one! Discuss your appoint- ment ahead of time with the family member or Dr. Joseph Badolato is medical director for Fam- ilyCare Health, a Port- land-based Coordinated Care Organization. Learn more at www.familycare- inc.org.