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Loyola’s Senior Health Center Helps Take the Confusion Out of Health Care

You’ve just seen your primary care physician for a check-up. She’s concerned about your irregular heartbeat, and it seems your allergies are worsening. She suggests you see a cardiologist and an allergist. You make an appointment with both specialists; one is on the north side of town and the other is on the south side. Mistakenly, you end up driving to the allergist when you should be at your cardiologist appointment.

Modern health care can be confusing, especially if you see multiple doctors and take multiple medications. “As people age, their health-related problems compound, and it can be difficult for older patients to keep things straight – medication, symptoms, ailments,” said Rahmawati Sih, M.D., medical director of Loyola’s Senior Health Center. For example, patients may have high blood pressure, heart disease and depression all at once, Sih noted. Some patients can experience symptoms such as dementia and incontinence, which can exacerbate some conditions.

In addition, patients on a fixed income may have to pick and choose what conditions to treat and may be hesitant to disclose all their medical problems for that reason. Also, specialists might be located at different offices making it difficult to get there.

Solutions for these issues comprise the backbone behind Loyola’s Senior Health Center, located at 8100 West Roosevelt Road in Forest Park, Ill. “At Loyola, we want to work with you to make you feel your best. One of the ways to work toward that goal was to dedicate a center to senior health.” The site’s staff includes Sih, a nurse and receptionist. Cardiology, psychiatry and neurology services also are available. “We are a relatively new site and will be adding more specialties in the future,” said Sih.

The advantage the senior center offers is the integration of services. For example, if Sih suggests a patient see a cardiologist, the patient can make an appointment at the center with Keith McLean, M.D. The patient’s chart is at the site, so each doctor is looking at the same original information. And, the doctors can easily consult with one another.

Another advantage of the senior center is the familiarity of the staff. When patients visit the site, they see the same receptionist and the same nurse every time. “The consistency is important to patients. They do not have to worry about finding a new office or explaining their conditions to a different person every time they see a new doctor,” Sih said. The staff is familiar with each patient and can relay important information to specialists located on or off site.

Sih’s advice to seniors seeing multiple physicians is simple: “Keep good records of all the medications you are currently taking including dosage and how often you are taking it. Also, make sure you have open communication with each doctor. For example, if you are seeing an allergist, let him know you have high blood pressure. As a physician, I want to see a patient’s complete health picture and need as much information as possible in order to help the person stay healthy.”

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