Commission advises parents on safety

WASHINGTON – A new book published by The Joint Commission aims to help parents find their way through the health care system and make better choices for their children, whether they are deciding when to give them medication, or getting emergency care after an accident.
The book, “The Smart Parent’s Guide to Getting Your Kids Through Checkups, Illnesses, and Accidents,” is the second consumer-oriented book issued by the commission, after “YOU: The Smart Patient,” published in 2006.
The parents’ guide was developed by the commission – better known for its accreditation of health care facilities – and Joint Commission Resources (JCR), its nonprofit affiliate, along with RealAge and its chief pediatric officer, Dr. Jennifer Trachtenberg.
The author is Trachtenberg, a well-known parenting expert and practicing pediatrician in New York known as “Dr. Jen.” She is also the author of “Good Kids, Bad Habits.”
The book offers easy-to-understand expert answers to commonly asked questions about medications, healthy diets, infection prevention, sleep habits, vaccinations and more, aiming to help parents avoid getting lost in a sea of information on the Internet.
Topics include how to protect your child’s health in the ER, at the pediatrician’s, in the pharmacy and at home; how to choose the right doctor and hospital; what “smart” questions to ask providers; how to get the best and timeliest care in the ER; how to handle a hospitalization, and how to deal with the health care system if their child has a chronic illness or special needs.
“We wrote this book with Dr. Jen because our organization’s vision is that all people should always experience the safest, highest quality, best-value health care,” says Dr. Mark R. Chassin, president of The Joint Commission. “As a father and grandfather, I know the challenges of parenting. ‘The Smart Parent’s Guide’ is a wonderful resource for parents seeking advice about a child’s health care. Whether the reader is a new parent or grandparent, they are all likely at some time or another to be faced with a difficult decision to make about their child or grandchild’s health care.”
Free excerpts from the book are available on the JCR Web site, at www.jcrinc.com.