Engaging with Your Doctor – How to Prepare for a Successful Appointment

Engaging with your doctor can help you get the most out of your healthcare. Working as a team, you can better discuss your concerns and then develop a plan together that starts you on the road to better health.

One way to better engage with your doctor is to be organized before you go to your appointment. Once there, you can both make the most of your time together.

The first step to a successful appointment is to be organized. Here are some points to consider so that you’re ready to fully collaborate with your doctor during your appointment.

• When you call in to schedule an appointment, explain why you need to be seen and ask how long the appointment will be. This will help you prioritize what you have time to talk about. The length of an appointment can vary from practice to practice and specialty to specialty.

• Make sure what your insurance will and won’t cover. If your doctor suggests something that might be an out-of-pocket expense for you, you both can discuss alternatives.

• Consider asking a trusted friend or family member to come with you to your appointment. They may be able to help you share your medical history or explain symptoms you’ve forgotten, and help you remember what the doctor advised once you get home.

• Plan to bring a pen and paper, or a digital device, to make notes about what the doctor says during your visit. This will give you direction to help follow the treatment plan you came up together so you’ll know what to do until your next appointment.

Before you go to your appointment, create a list of the following items to help you and your doctor communicate better:

• Conditions and issues that you want to discuss with your doctor. Oftentimes, what might seem like unrelated symptoms to a patient can actually help the doctor see a more complex, unified condition.

• Your medical health history. Previous surgeries or illnesses can help your doctor understand your whole health to make a proper diagnosis. Write down any pertinent family medical history, test results and immunization records, as well.

• Prescriptions you currently take with what each is for, the doctor’s name, the dosage and how long you’ve been taking each. Rather than bringing in the bottles, writing each down helps the doctor easily understand your health status so you don’t use up precious appointment time

• Supplements, herbs and over-the-counter medication, as your doctor will be interested to know in case of any interaction with current of future prescription medicines.

To understand more about how to plan for a successful doctor appointment where you can collaborate with you doctor, visit cfah.org.

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