Posted at 11:08 PM on Saturday, November 14, 2009 by Dr Jeff
Last time I wrote that there were three things I would like every patient to do to get the most out of their doctor visits. These three things were: 1) Make sure you bring a list of your medications, including supplements and over the counter medicines, to your doctor visit. 2) Bring a list of the things you want to talk about to the appointment; and 3) As soon as possible after you are finished with the doctor, write down what you and the doctor agreed was the plan.If you don't like to write, tell a trusted friend or family member. I hope that all of you already wrote out your medication list. I suspect that many of you have had a chance to test out what happens when you bring a list of what you want to talk about to the doctor. I suspect that if you tried to write down what you and the doctor agreed on, it was harder than you thought it would be. For such a short visit, oftentimes a lot of topics are discussed. Like a lot of things, you will probably get better with practice.
The next step to helping your doctor is to know as much as possible about your medical condition. This means that you have to find out what they are!!! Even though I try to be a good doctor who talks to his patients, I am frequently surprised when I say "We will start you out at a low dose because of your kidney disease … " and the person replies "Since when have I had kidney disease!?!" So you may also be surprised by some of the conditions your doctor thinks you have. I used kidney disease as an example because most people with mild kidney disease don't have any symptoms. The same can happen when the blood count is just a little bit low, or if you have mild liver disease. It is very likely that your doctor knows you have these, and is considering these conditions in your treatment, but I think it is best if you know about them too. You may also find that your doctor thinks you have conditions that went away years ago, or are even genuine mistakes. And you may find the doctor does not know about some important conditions. This happens with the very best doctors. Since you are your doctor's partner, you need to help him or her.
A good way to find out is by talking to the doctor's nurse at the beginning or end of the visit. You can blame me or just say "You know, I am getting old enough that I am not sure I know about all my medical conditions. Do you and Dr. X have a list of my conditions? Another way to keep up with your conditions is to ask for a copy of the "discharge summary" when you leave the hospital. This is a document that the doctor who discharges you will write to summarize why you were in the hospital and what was done while you were there. Usually it includes a list of all your medical conditions. Good luck with your efforts to become a great partner for your doctor.
