Suggestion 1: Healthcare

When we retired, we already had quite a few conditions that needed considerable medical supervision.  None were particularly life threatening, but we do need regular checkups and maintenance drugs/treatments.  What we have learned is our bodies are never finished "growing."  We've "grown" quite a few more conditions during the last three years, and some of the existing ones decided to add to their list of symptoms.

The first point is that health planning should include, but most definitely not be limited to, your current condition.  In short, things will get worse.  Health planning should be about what might need monitoring or fixing in the future.  This can be determined in some part by examining your family history (so many conditions seem to be "gifts" from your DNA).  You should also consider your present conditions and what they might evolve into; if your knees hurt now, chances are very good they will hurt worse later.  Being prepared for worst-case scenarios is good sense.

The second point is less obvious than the first.  We have discovered it is difficult/impossible to get healthcare professionals from different groups to share information.  And sharing information is the "easy" thing to get them to do!  We have discovered what we want/need is for them to share in diagnosis and, most importantly, treatment options.  For example, I have psoriasis that needs a dermatologist to treat.  I have psoriatic arthritis that needs a rheumatologist to treat.  I have ulcerative colitis (in remission 13 years!) that needs a gastroenterologist to treat.  I have a bad knee that needs an orthopedist to treat.  Each doctor might prescribe a treatment that will require review by the other doctors.  Several times in the past I have asked one doctor if a treatment will impact one of my other conditions and been told to ask that doctor.  In fact, my last attack of ulcerative colitis was in 1998 as a reaction to anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed by a former orthopedist (I warned him about my UC and was assured there would be no problems...if I had asked my gastroenterologist he would have deleted that treatment option).  The point is to consider the opportunity to be a part of a multi-specialties group. We recently began this process using a major university hospital group.  We will keep our local primary care physician, but we will move as many of our specialists as possible to this new location. In just the first weeks, we have been impressed with how the communication between specialists makes treatment options safer and more comprehensive about our health.

Good luck!