Ask The Doctor
How many times have you waited months for an appointment with your doctor, only to be shuffled in and out in ten minutes ? or less ? with unanswered questions? The dynamics of the doctor appointment are strange these days. Patients still persist in feeling that their doctor regards them as an individual, with one-of-a-kind concerns. We rightfully think that all of our health concerns should be addressed.
On the other hand, doctor’s offices are busy places. Your doctor may easily see dozens of patients in a single day and cannot possibly remember every detail on each patient’s chart. It’s not out of a lack of concern on your doctor’s part that a regular checkup or follow up takes less than ten minutes. It’s up to you to come prepared to your appointment with a specific list of questions to ask the doctor.
For example, let’s say your appointment involves discussing a medication you’ve been recently prescribed. Is it working out OK? Are you feeling better? Have you gained or lost a significant amount of weight recently? Whatever the purpose of this appointment, that’s what the doctor intends to address, no more and no less. Now, let’s say that you’ve got osteoarthritis and you’ve been experiencing increased pain or symptoms. While this is an ongoing problem, it’s not on your doctor’s radar for today’s visit.
However, because you haven’t made a list of questions to ask the doctor, you may simply forget about it, amidst the taking of blood pressure, weight and the discussion on the medication. Your doctor gathers the data on today’s appointment purpose and is gone. The result is basically a wasted appointment. Meanwhile, you’ve neglected to remind your doctor of other issues which won’t be addressed for at least another few months.
In order to make the best use of each doctor’s appointment, make a comprehensive list of questions to ask your doctor, well in advance of your appointment. Jot down questions you want to ask the doctor as they occur to you. Have you had trouble sleeping lately? Did you have a persistent cough that eventually resolved itself? Maybe you lost your job and have been feeling depressed. Have you recently gained or lost weight with no apparent cause? These are all legitimate concerns that should be added to your list of questions to ask the doctor at your upcoming appointment.
Doctors are not mind readers, so unless you come to your appointment with a prepared list of questions to ask the doctor, you are not getting your money’s worth.
Any doctor worth his or her salt will spend all the time you need to address your list of questions, as they bear responsibility for your health. When you are prepared to ask the doctor about all of your health concerns, everyone wins. You will leave your appointment feeling assured that everything’s been covered. You just might sleep better, simply by knowing that your doctor can explain the issues which are causing you to lose sleep! Ask the doctor anything and everything that is of concern to you. Your health will be better for it!
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