PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH CARE RIGHTS

All individuals should exercise their right to make their own personal health care decisions. Below are resources that can help you plan, make informed decisions – and protect your rights as a patient:

• Whether you are a patient, family member, caregiver or friend, serious illness and end-of-life issues affect all of us. For resources and tools on how to protect your personal health care rights, go to www.CareDecisionsCT.org.  Also, talk to your family and your doctor to express your wishes, and sign an advance directive if you choose.  Have peace of mind for you and your family, because planning makes all the difference.
  
  
• Patients are sometimes advised to undergo unnecessary medical tests and treatments even when they shouldn’t. To address this problem, more than 70 professional medical societies have joined forces in a project called Choosing Wisely. Here is a link to materials that Consumer Reports has produced to help patients talk with their doctor about avoiding needless health care: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/health/doctors-and-hospitals/choosing-wisely/index.htm