Visiting a doctor's office can make you nervous, impatient, or even scared. You may have only a few minutes with your health care provider. Later, you might remember something you forgot to ask. Or you may forget what the doctor or nurse said. Being prepared can help you get the information you need. Here are some things you can bring to make the most of your visit:
- Lists of your concerns, any allergies and all the medicines, herbs or vitamins you take
- A description of symptoms - when they started, what makes them better
- A notepad or tape recorder
- A trusted friend or relative
Make sure you understand your diagnosis and any treatments. Ask your health care provider to write down his or her instructions to you. If you still have trouble understanding, ask where you can go for more information.
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Be an Active Member of Your Health Care Team(Center for Drug Evaluation and Research) - http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/active12panelEng.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo/active12panelSpa.htm
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How to Talk to Your Child's Doctor(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/talk_doctor.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/general/talk_doctor_esp.html
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Talking to Your Doctor(National Eye Institute) - http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/talktodoc.asp
Also available in Spanish http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/espanol/oculista.asp
- Getting the Most Out of a Visit with Your Doctor(American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) - http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00268
- Questions Are the Answer: Get More Involved with Your Health Care(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/index.html
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Tips for Talking to Your Doctor(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/pat-advocacy/healthcare/837.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/pat-advocacy/healthcare/837.printerview.html
- New Cancer Patients Retain Little Medical Information(10/22/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70743.html
- Doctors Know Little About Consumer-Directed Health Plans(10/07/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70167.html
- End-of-Life Talk Has Cascading Benefits(10/07/2008, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_70128.html
- More News on Talking With Your Doctor http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_t.html#talkingwithyourdoctor
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Tell Your Doctor about Your Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/timetotalk/forpatients.htm
Also available in Spanish http://nccam.nih.gov/espanol/horadeconversar/pacientes.htm
- JAMA Patient Page: Quality of Care(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/300/16/1962.pdf
- Checklist for Your Eye Doctor Appointment(Prevent Blindness America) - http://www.preventblindness.org/eye_problems/doc_checklist.html
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Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing: Tips for Working with Your Doctor(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/seniors/medical-care/240.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/seniors/medical-care/240.printerview.html
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Do I Need an Interpreter?(American Academy of Family Physicians) - http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/articles/884.printerview.html
Also available in Spanish http://familydoctor.org/online/famdoces/home/articles/884.printerview.html
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Five Steps to Safer Health Care(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/5steps.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/cincorec.pdf
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Getting a Second Opinion Before Surgery: Your Choices and Medicare Coverage(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) - Links to PDF - http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/02173.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/02173_s.pdf
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How to Talk to Your Doctor about Heart Disease and Heart Health(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/hcpheartdis.htm
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/preguntas/hcpheartdis.htm
- Importance of Patient-Reported Outcomes ... It's All about the Patients(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/606_patients.html
- Let's Talk...and Listen(Amputee Coalition of America) - Links to PDF - http://www.amputee-coalition.org/inmotion/may_jun_02/talk.pdf
- Living Well with a Serious Illness: Talking with Your Doctor When the Future Is Uncertain(American College of Physicians) - Links to PDF - http://www.acponline.org/patients_families/pdfs/health/serious_ill.pdf
- Making the Most of Your Doctors Visits(Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance) - Links to PDF - http://www.tsalliance.org/Fact%20Sheets/Making%20the%20most%20of%20your%20doctors%20visit.pdf
- Questions for Your Doctor: Your First Visit(Testicular Cancer Resource Center) - http://tcrc.acor.org/startquest.html
- Questions to Ask Your Anesthesiologist Before Surgery(American Society of Anesthesiologists) - http://www.asahq.org/patientEducation/surgeryquestions.htm
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor If You Have High Blood Pressure(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/treat/question.htm
- Quick Tips for Working with Your Doctor(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1655
- Talking to Your Doctor about Kidney Disease(National Kidney Disease Education Program) - http://www.nkdep.nih.gov/patients/talk_doctor.htm
- Talking to Your Doctor about Sarcoidosis(Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research) - http://www.stopsarcoidosis.org/patientresources/doctor.htm
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Talking to Your Health Care Team about Bladder Control(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - Links to PDF - http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/pdf/talk_ez.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/spanish/pubs/talk/
- Talking with Your Doctor(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/eto_2_4_talkingwithyourdoctor.asp
- Talking with Your Orthopaedist: A Guide for Persons with OI(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) - http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteogenesis_Imperfecta/your_orthopaedist.asp
- Talking with Your Primary-Care Doctor: A Guide for Persons with OI(National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) - http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteogenesis_Imperfecta/primary_care_doctor.asp
- When You Visit Your Doctor(Harvard Medical School) - http://www.health.harvard.edu/fhg/doctor/doctor.shtml
- Talking with Your Doctor(National Institute on Aging) - http://nihseniorhealth.gov/talkingwithyourdoctor/toc.html
- Video on Communicating with Your Doctor(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/commdrvid.htm
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Physician-Patient Relations(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/term=physician+patient+AND+(relations+OR+communication)
- Study Sheds Light on the Placebo Effect of Medical Encounters(National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine) - http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/040308.htm
- Article: Missed opportunities for interval empathy in lung cancer communication. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18809811&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Communicating effectively with transgender patients. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18788243&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: The green bike. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18782926&tool=MedlinePlus
- Talking With Your Doctor -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=professional+patient+relations[majr]+AND+communication[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- American Academy of Family Physicians - http://familydoctor.org/
- American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
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How to Talk to Your Child's Doctor(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/talk_doctor.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/general/talk_doctor_esp.html
- Talking to the Pharmacist(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/body/pharmacist.html
- I'm a Guy. How Can I Talk to My Female Doctor about Certain Things?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/expert/emotions/expert_talking_to_doctor.html
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Questions to Ask Your Doctor(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/medical_care/questions_doctor.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/cuerpo/questions_doctor_esp.html
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Talking to Your Doctor(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/medical_care/talk_doctor.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/cuerpo/talk_doctor_esp.html
- Talking to Your Healthcare Providers(AGS Foundation for Health in Aging) - http://www.healthinaging.org/agingintheknow/chapters_ch_trial.asp?ch=60
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Talking with Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People(National Institute on Aging) - Large PDF file - http://www.niapublications.org/pubs/talking/Talking_with_Your_Doctor.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.niapublications.org/pubs/conversando/Conversando_con_su_Medico.pdf
- Patient Rights - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/patientrights.html
- Patient Safety - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/patientsafety.html
- Health System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthsystem.html
- Personal Health Issues - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/personalhealthissues.html
- Social/Family Issues - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/socialfamilyissues.html
Talking With Your Doctor - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/talkingwithyourdoctor.html