And if you didn’t understand everything? That’s perfectly natural, too. This will help you absorb it, and it will also help the doctor know whether you understood. Next, repeat the information back to your doctor. “It’s perfectly fine to say, ‘Sorry, I’m just not following you. Ask your doctor to clarify what they’re saying in plain language if they’re talking in medical-speak,” she says. “Sometimes people are reluctant to ask questions. It’s OK to ask questions, and Roter stresses that you should feel comfortable asking as many of them as you need to understand your doctor’s advice. Medical visits can be overwhelming and sometimes even the most well-meaning doctor can present too much information too quickly and in complex terms.
Your doctor’s job is to help you feel better, and he or she is required to protect your privacy.
#All my patients are female. full
“Sometimes patients are fearful that the doctor isn’t interested or that it isn’t relevant.” But providing detailed information helps a doctor get the full picture of your overall well-being and assess lifestyle factors that might contribute to your health.Īlso, don’t be afraid to bring up pain or a feeling that’s bothering you, even if it’s embarrassing. “It’s important to share things about your lifestyle, social obligations and relationships at home and at work,” she says. Roter urges patients to be honest about worries and concerns. “Your outline doesn’t need to be complex it can simply be that you have medical problems, fears or worries that you want to discuss.” “The way in which time is used really makes a critical difference,” she says. Introduce them at the start of your visit. Before the visit begins, create a list of topics that you want to address. According to her research, the length of an appointment matters less than its quality. Many doctors’ visits last only 15–20 minutes, so it’s important to prioritize your concerns by setting an agenda, Roter says.
Whether you’re already a great communicator or you feel like you want your doctor to understand you better, Roter offers four key elements to maximize your visit. All of these things are part of what she calls patient-centered communication, and they help doctors tailor advice and treatment. “Women tend to talk more in medical visits they ask more questions, they’re more likely to talk about aspects of their daily lives, their lifestyles, their feelings and emotions,” Roter says. When it comes to doctor-patient communication, women have an advantage, says Debra Roter, Dr.P.H., a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who has studied doctor-patient interactions and communication dynamics for more than 40 years. In light of this, having a strong relationship with your primary care provider (whether you see a physician, certified nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant) is crucial to getting the most out of each visit. Patients have their own busy schedules, too, and they want to get in and out of the office quickly.
Today, it’s normal for primary care providers to be pressed to see as many patients as possible in a day and for patients to bounce between practitioners in a group practice.
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