As discussed in our previous post, Dear Doctor, please let me finish …, sometimes it feels difficult to be heard during your doctor’s appointment. In today’s post, MediComm provides some suggestions on how to improve your interaction with your doctor.

Perhaps the title of this post is misleading; there is no guaranteed way to make your doctor see, hear and understand you. But there are things that we, as patients, can do to improve the outcomes of our medical appointments.

TIP 1

Try and see things from the doctor’s perspective. Yes, although you are the paying client and you’re probably feeling ill or unhappy, try stepping into your doctor’s shoes for just a minute. They are super busy and under pressure, but they do want to help ­– so how can you make that easier? As with any form of communication, the more collaborative the interaction, the more successful the outcome.

TIP 2

A crucial step is preparing two documents before meeting with your doctor: (i) a concise, accurate and relevant general medical history about yourself (or the patient you are accompanying) and (ii) a short story about the current complaint (when did it start, how does it feel, what makes it better or worse?).

Send both documents in at least a week before your appointment and take a copy with you when you go, just in case it hasn’t reached the doctor. In an ideal world, some of this medical history would already be available to the doctor online but, in the meantime, it’s up to you to provide this important information. Doing this ahead of time achieves two things:

1. Any doctor worth their salt will take the time to read through your history and current story before seeing you, which immediately gives you insight into the calibre of the doctor you’re dealing with.
2. It’s a huge timesaver during the appointment. If the doctor doesn’t need to spend the first 15 minutes compiling a comprehensive history and understanding the basics of your current concerns, they can start by filling in any gaps and going into more detail in the areas they consider to be most relevant. This strategy helps the doctor to ask the right questions from the start and to gather any other important information effectively.

TIP 3

Before the appointment, write down:

1. what your concerns and symptoms are (this may already be covered in your story)
2. your questions for the doctor, and
3. any information you need from your doctor or anything else you want to discuss with them.

Avoid frustration by taking your list into the appointment, in case you get nervous or sidetracked and forget things. Make sure you address everything on your list, as well as any new questions which arise during the consult, before leaving.

TIP 4

Listen carefully to your doctor’s questions and answer concisely and accurately; they are asking them for a reason. It’s not only doctors who need to listen well!

TIP 5

Try not to veer off topic or get sidetracked by issues or stories that aren’t relevant to your current concern. However, sometimes what feels like an unrelated incident is in fact an important piece of information so, if you’re uncertain, ask your doctor whether you should elaborate further.

TIP 6

Before leaving the consultation room, ask your doctor how best to contact them if you have any more questions or concerns and then briefly summarise:

1. what you understand has been diagnosed/decided
2. what you understand you need to do and when
3. what you understand the doctor needs to do and when they plan to do it, and
4. what the next step is.

Keep in mind that the average appointment with a doctor is 15–20 minutes long. Being prepared in advance allows you and your doctor to be thorough, even though time is limited, and is more likely to lead to a successful outcome.

Follow these tips whether the appointment is with a GP or a specialist and whether it’s for yourself or for a child/elderly parent/friend who you’re accompanying. For specialist appointments it may be worth asking for a detailed referral letter from your GP to add to your medical history. Don’t assume that the referring doctor has already done so!