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How to Talk to Your DoctorKnowledge is Important to Improved Health Status and Outcomes
You, the patient, must play an active role in attaining optimal health care for yourself and loved ones. Ask questions and learn!
Education is the key to understanding your health status and how to improve or maintain it. Time constraints forced upon health care providers by reimbursement issues have changed the face of health care and its delivery system. Be Prepared to WaitYou may typically wait at least an hour past your appointment time to see your health care provider for a maximum of fifteen minutes. Patients aren't always polite and call ahead to cancel appointments so offices usually overbook appointments, and emergencies always take precedence. Plan on a half day for medical appointments and you'll avoid the aggravation. Get to the PointIf you spend any of that precious time you do get with your practitioner, making polite small talk about his family and yours, you may not have adequate time to discuss your own health issues. So be nice, but assertive, and move the conversation along quickly. Be Prepared for Your AppointmentIf this is not just an annual physical and you have no new complaints, you need to have some written cues to keep you on track. Don't try to self diagnose, but keep a diary of signs and symptoms you need to report. Write down your questions and bring paper and pencil with you to write notes about the answers you get. You might also want to bring a spouse or other relative with you if you have difficulty hearing or understanding information and instructions. But caution them not to use up your time. Talk About How You Feel and Your ConcernsBe descriptive about your signs and symptoms or concerns. If you have pain, assign a value to it on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst pain ever. Is it burning, stabbing, throbbing, constant or intermittent? Does it get better if you stay still and worse with movement; or just plain hurts all the time? Does it disrupt your sleep, affect your eating, and keep you from enjoying life? If you have nausea does it come and go in waves, or is it constant? Can you eat despite feeling nauseous? Do you have dizziness or an unsteady gait? Be Sure You Understand What's Ordered and WhyIf the practitioner prescribes a medication or treatment ask him/her to spell the name, and to tell you specifically why you are taking this medication or treatment.
If s/he orders test ask what they are for and when you'll get the results. Is there any special preparation for the test and do you have to be fasting? If you have to fast, can you drink water? And should you take any medications, or wait until after the test? Should s/he want to perform a procedure you should ask if they have done this before and how many time? Why do you need this procedure and how will it help or affect your signs and symptoms? Will it be painful and will you have to take any specific precautions? Learn to Ask QuestionsIf you can't think of any right away, always ask how you can get answers later? Should you ask to speak to the practitioner or the nurse or assistant? Can you Email questions or leave a voice mail and expect an answer? What time of day does the practitioner typically return patient's non-emergent phone calls?
The copyright of the article How to Talk to Your Doctor in Public Healthcare Issues is owned by Kathy Quan . Permission to republish How to Talk to Your Doctor in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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