10 Health Care Mistakes That Elderly People Make

The Institute for Healthcare Advancement reported that the following are the most common health care mistakes made by the elderly in America:

• The first is not really a health care mistake, but it can lead to injury. Older Americans might want to consider evaluating themselves to determine whether they are competent enough to drive. Otherwise, they could cause serious injury to themselves and other people on the road.
• Many older Americans have also refused the use of medical devises such as hearing aids or walkers. These Americans might want to use these devises because they provide helpful aid to those who need it.
• Many elderly people refuse to talk about their health care needs with health care professionals.
• In additional, many elderly people are embarrassed to admit that they cannot understand or remember what their health care professional told them about their medical problems, which can create additional problems.
• Unfortunately, serious injury can also result if elderly people do not take the necessary precautions when walking around their homes or other areas.
• An older American might also want to have some type of system in place to manage the times when he or she is suppose to take his or her medications.
• Older Americans also make the mistake of going to different primary care physicians, instead of having only one primary care physician.
• Elderly Americans also make the mistake of not seeking help when early warning signs of possible illness occur.
• In addition, many elderly Americans do not use preventive health care such as flu shots.
• Finally, the biggest mistake that elderly Americans probably make is that they refuse to ask for help from their loved ones.

See The Top 10 Health Care Mistakes Made By the Elderly, ElderLawAnswers, July 27, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.