Making the most of a doctor visit…
I was talking with a friend on the phone the other day, and she was lamenting over her mother-in-law’s health problems. ‘Rose’ had moved in with her and her husband about six months earlier, and things had started out pretty well. Rose was fairly independent, dressing and bathing herself with no problems. She entertained herself with reading and television while the couple worked. When they were home, she conversed with them without being overbearing, and she enjoyed the outings they planned to local parks and museums.
But a series of falls led Rose to a short stay in a local hospital, followed by a week in a rehabilitation home, before she was able to move back in with her son and daughter-in-law. Her health problems suddenly ballooned, like a strange and unwanted clump of weeds in an otherwise neat and orderly garden. This led to more visits to doctors, specialists who never seemed to find anything wrong with her despite dramatic symptoms. Just as important, it depressed Rose, and she became unable to do even the most basic tasks of daily living, like dressing herself or bathing.
In addition to their jobs, my friend and her husband now had to do full time care-taking duty for Rose, and they were exhausted. A nursing home or in-home care were expensive luxuries that they could not afford.
By the time I spoke with my friend, Rose was about to visit a new doctor, a geriatrician, who specializes in caring for elderly people. She would be accompanied to the appointment by her son, who has no medical knowledge and was already feeling overwhelmed. Over the course of our conversation, I realized how ill-prepared they were to meet a new doctor. They didn’t know what information would be useful for the doctor to know, what questions to ask, or what to expect at the end of the appointment.
Too often, people leave their doctors’ offices with no further plan of action. They are simply resigned to putting up with whatever brought them to the doctor’s office in the first place. Not necessary!
As we talked, we came up with one question after another for the doctor. I made sure that my friend wrote them down, and we talked more about how to strategize to get the most out of the upcoming appointment. They were all desperate for something that would restore Rose’s health, or at least make her care easier to manage.
Some of the advice that I gave them was specific to Rose’s situation, but a lot of it was advice that I would give to almost anyone seeing a new doctor (or even one they’ve been seeing for a while).
1. Think about what you want to ask the doctor, and write these questions down on paper, in your phone, or somewhere where you won’t forget to bring them with you. Your doctor may not be able to get through all of them in one visit, so be prepared to ask how he or she wants to follow up the remaining questions. Some doctors may schedule a second appointment, while others may schedule a phone call to complete the list.
2. Think about anything that might be related to the problem that has brought you to the doctor’s office. Did you travel somewhere recently? Did you change your diet? Did you stop or start a medicine? Did one symptom begin before another, or did they start at the same time? If you are wondering whether or not something could relate to your health problem, ask your doctor! And don’t forget to write these questions down also!
3. Bring a list of your current diagnoses and medications, including any non-prescription ones. Show this list to your doctor, or better yet, give your doctor a copy of it, and ask if there are any drug interactions between any of them. Many times different doctors prescribe medicine without knowing that another doctor prescribed a different medicine that interacts badly with the first medicine. Having one doctor check the complete list can avoid this pitfall. If possible, bring all of your pill bottles with you to the appointment also, so your doctor can see them and check that they are current. Sometimes people take medicines that don’t show up on their list for one reason or another.
4. For a new doctor, ask to sign a release form so that he or she can obtain your medical records from any other doctors or hospitals where you have received care. Of course, make sure that you give the names and addresses of your previous doctors, so that his or her staff can contact them for old records. This is especially important if several specialists were involved in your care- there may be lab or test results that were overlooked, and you will want your new doctor to be able to review all recent results, no matter where they were obtained. The sooner you sign the release form, the sooner your new doctor can obtain your medical records.
5. For people who have memory problems, or tend to forget information when visiting the doctor (that includes most of us…), ask that directions be put in writing. Also, consider bringing a friend or family member with you, so that they can listen to the doctor and be familiar with any instructions you were given. They can also be great at clarifying information for you, and giving moral support during the sometimes stressful experience of an office visit.
6. Encourage your doctor to explore options. Ask questions like, “Well, what is the next step?”, “What else can we try, since the current medicine isn’t helping as much as we hoped it would”, “Is there another test we should consider, or is there a test we should repeat?” It is important for your doctor to understand that you want to continue searching for something that can stop or minimize the symptoms that bother you, even if they are not life threatening or dangerous. Too often, people leave their doctors’ offices with no further plan of action. They are simply resigned to putting up with whatever brought them to the doctor’s office in the first place. Not necessary!
