Speaker phone, conference call or webcam your loved one’s doctor appointment.

If you can’t go to the doctor’s appointment with your loved one, whether it is because of work or distance, you can go by speaker phone. Have your loved one take their cell phone or use the doctor’s phone and put it on speaker in the exam room. You can give the doctor more information if your loved one isn’t a good communicator and then listen as the doctor tells you both the treatment plan. You can also use the conference call function to make sure the other family members are included. Communication is essential to understand the situation and to make good decision making.

If your loved one is in the hospital and you can’t make it, have someone bring in their laptop or ask someone at the hospital to set it up so you can use your webcam to see how your loved one is doing. There is nothing like seeing the person with your own eyes to help you understand what the doctor is talking about. Too often we can’t imagine what the doctor is telling us as we still picture our loved one like they used to look. An image, either by webcam or picture can give you a better picture of the condition of your loved one and what he or she is going through.

I am not saying that you shouldn’t come in person to see your loved one or to the doctor’s appointment, but for those times when you can’t be there, use the technology available.

Have a kind and respectful day.