Communicating with your Doctor

Visits with doctors are becoming increasingly frustrating for both patients and physicians. It seems like there's never enough time to cover all of the issues that are important during a doctor's visit. There are a number of things, however, that you and your doctor can do to make more efficient use of your time together.

What to Expect

What should you expect from your doctor? Most physicians try their best to stay on schedule, but unexpected problems may set your physician back and cause delays. While you should not expect this, it is wise to recognize that this is a real possibility and bring a good book or call ahead before you leave for your appointment to see if your physician is running late.

Once in the office, you should expect that your physician has a complete record of your previous visits and the results of all the tests that may have been ordered at that time. You should expect a clear explanation of diagnoses, including the goals of treatment. It is important to understand whether your physician is hoping to cure the disease. If cure is not possible, the goal may be to stabilize a chronic illness so that there will be improvement in your condition or to delay the progression of a chronic disease. If there is no direct treatment available for your diagnosis, then it is important to understand what things can be done to improve your ability to function and meet your day-to-day goals.

Your physician may communicate some or all of this information, but it is common and useful for a physician to rely on a nurse or patient educator to review the information with you to be sure you a have good understanding of what is going on, what you should do and what to expect. You should also expect that your physician is willing to communicate with your family, either directly or through his nurse, to make them aware of the treatment plan.

What can you do?

What can you do to help your physician? First, be on time. Second, lists are good. If you and your family and loved ones can work together to develop a list of your complaints, and have that available when you go in for a visit, this can save time and help assure that the visit focuses on the problems that are causing you the most concern. This is particularly important if you are having any memory complaints. Even without memory problems, a physician's visit often feels rushed, and it is not unusual for patients to forget issues that were important to them. Always remember to bring all medications, including vitamins, aspirin, over-the-counter medications, and "natural substances," e.g. herbal medications, with you. A list of surgeries, current medical diagnoses from other physicians you are seeing, and past medical problems are also very helpful.

Follow-up

Finally, feel free to take notes during the visit and ask questions. If time does not seem adequate to go into a full discussion of the problem and the physician's patient education materials don't seem to be adequate to explain what's going on, schedule a follow-up appointment. It may take several visits before your physician clearly understands your diagnosis and what the possible treatments and care plans would be, and it may be several more visits before you and your family fully understand what is possible and how best to proceed.