Headlines

As reported by The Hartford Courant, February 2, 2006.

Course to Demystify Care for Patients 

By William Hathaway

Today's health care environment has become so complicated that a few University of Connecticut Health Center doctors decided patients need a college course to navigate the maze.

So the health center created what it calls the nation's first "Patient School," a five-week course beginning March 1 that will offer health care survival skills.

"We need to tell people how to succeed at being a patient," said Dr. Robert Trestman, director of the Connecticut Health program at the health center.

The idea for the course grew out of discussions between doctors and administration officials about how to improve clinical care and reduce medical errors, Trestman said. During the talks, it became clear that the complexity of the modern health care system created problems for patients.

"Life has gotten far more complicated than it used to be," Trestman said.

For instance, in recent years, patient advocacy groups, insurers and drug companies all offer reams of information about a variety of illnesses and their treatment options. But people need to be taught how to assess the value of the information they receive, he said.

"People need to be able to judge whether they are receiving inappropriate or inadequate intervention," Trestman said. "We are presenting options to our patients, but ultimately it is their life and their choice. We want to empower them to help them make complex medical decisions."

One of the topics to be discussed during the five-week course - which will meet Wednesdays, March 1 through March 31, from 6:30 to 8:45 p.m. - is how best to act as a "patient advocate" for a child or parent. Other topics include how to make sure doctors ask all questions they need to during an assessment and how to interpret diagnostic and screening tests.

There is a $59 charge for Patient School. To register, send a check, payable to UCHC Patient School, to UConn Health Center Patient School, MC 5385, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington CT 06030-5385. Enrollment is limited to 30 people. For additional information, call 860-679-7692 or 800-535-6232.