SPECIAL REPORT: What You Need to Know Before Seeing the Doctor

We’ve all been lost in the health care maze at one point or another. So this month Nine is On Your Side helping you become a better advocate for your own health care. For instance, do you know what to do before you ever see a doctor? Do you know the right questions to ask? 
Dr. Robert Newman, a family physician at the Brody School of Medicine has been treating patients for nearly 30 years. He says in that time, he’s learned we as patients can do a few things that can help us get better health care.

Being open with your doctor and specific about all your problems is a start.

Newman says, “Probably the biggest thing I notice is there’s an assumption on the part of patients that health care professionals and doctors are going to be able to cure all the problems and take care of all the problems. We view it as a partnership in primary care and everyone has a responsibility.“

One of those responsibilities: make sure he or she is qualified to take care of you.
And while a doctor may have the degree, Newman says good health care goes far beyond what’s on the wall.

Ask yourself, does my doctor listen to me? He says, “There’s lots of intangibles that I see that make better doctors. Those intangibles are interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate. Of course as a physician what we look for in residents is compassion, pretty critical. Interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate the compassion, caring and being in medicine for the right reasons, those are the things that sort of separate the spectrum in my opinion.“

And Newman says prepare for your visit, know what you want to get out of it and write down what you want to talk about.
Be sure to talk about each and every symptom you’re experiencing; the more info the better.  But prioritize.

He says, “Folks need to understand they may have to focus on one problem at a certain visit and schedule a time for another visit if there are other issues that come up. That sometimes is an issue because there may be only a limited time to focus on one issue particularly if it’s complicated.“

Newman says bring in all the medicines you’re taking every time you see the doctor, even vitamins, supplements and over the counter drugs.

He sees too many patients become ill because of adverse drug reactions.
Another practice Newman recommends, keep a notebook that tracks all your doctor’s visits and what happens at them.

If you’re too sick to write the information down, get someone close to you to come along.

And if you find yourself facing the possibility of being hospitalized, first ask your doctor “Is that my only option?”

Newman says, “Hospital care is very expensive so that’s one of the pushes again for questioning do we really need to be in the hospital for this. Or can we treat as an outpatient and save some of the expense?“

But if you have no choice but to go to the hospital, Newman says find someone who will be there for you. Whether it’s your family doctor, or a friend or a relative, make sure there is someone you can trust who will make the right decisions for you when you can’t.

And make sure your advocate sees that what happens at the hospital is communicated to your primary care physician.

Another element to the healthcare experience you can’t forget about: tests. Newman says when a doctor brings up running tests, ask how much does the test cost. What’s the benefit and is there an alternative? He says it’s important to get those details squared away if you’re not in an urgent situation. Bottom line, regardless of what you see the doctor for you can make your health care experience what you want it to be.