Introduction
A PUBLICATION OF THE HARM REDUCTION COALITION
This resource has been written for people who use drugs in order to make going to the doctor and getting other kinds of health care easier. It’s okay to be scared or nervous about going to the doctor. Maybe you’re not sure what to say to the doctor. Or maybe you’re worried about what the doctor will tell you. Maybe it has been a long time since you’ve seen a doctor. Maybe you had a bad experience at a doctor’s office in the past. And maybe you just don’t like going to the doctor.
Stigma and judgment around drug use can lead to being treated differently by doctors and medical staff. Even though this shouldn’t happen—it can. But there are lots of good, caring people working in health care who will care about you, your needs and your health.
Your health is very IMPORTANT! You DESERVE good, quality health care—it is your RIGHT!
This booklet is meant to give you some tips that we hope will make getting good health care a little bit easier. This booklet was written by National Harm Reduction Coalition for people who use drugs. We acknowledge that some people who use drugs face challenges when seeking health care. Our goal is to provide information that people who use drugs can relate to and learn from. Service providers and peers can use this booklet as a tool for starting honest conversations with people who use drugs about health care.