Verbiage to help a friend ask the right questions for her husband with post-surgery infection...
My MPH is in food systems, so even though I am familiar with many aspects of microbiology and infection prevention, I am by no means an expert. My friend's husband just had a precancerous tumor removed from his liver. He was discharged 2 days later and was back in the hospital 2 days after discharge with a blood clot and infection in his arm. He is on day 2 of being back in the hospital, with no improvement so far.
I suggested to my friend to ask for copies of her husband's labs, to ask what bacteria is causing the infection, and if they have tested for antimicrobial resistance, and what antibiotics they have him on. I am worried that providers might talk down to them because their health literacy is probably avg or slightly below avg. I'm concerned that the hospital either discharged him too soon, or it could be nosocomial, or they didn't provide enough information to prevent infection at home. (They have dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, and geese at home.)
Can anyone recommend questions she can ask in order to help her advocate for him? Do the questions that I suggested to her make sense in that setting?
After being an advocate for my mom in the hospital I have seen that some people are wonderful and thorough as providers etc, and some people make mistakes that can have severe consequences because they aren't doing things correctly. I would greatly appreciate any input on navigating those conversations, from someone who works in that setting. Thank you!