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
- 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
- Understanding Your Doctors and Other Caregivers(Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations) - http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/SpeakUp/sp_understanding.htm
- Docs Can Sway Parents' Attitudes to Vaccination(05/06/2009, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83929.html
- Doctor-Patient Talks Key to Blacks Getting Cancer Screens(04/20/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83123.html
- Collaborative Care Helps Ease Chronic Pain(03/24/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_82081.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/health/espanol/consejos/
- Ask Me 3: Good Questions for Your Good Health(National Patient Safety Foundation) - http://www.npsf.org/askme3/for_patients.php
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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
- 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
- JAMA Patient Page: Evidence-Based Medicine(American Medical Association) - Links to PDF - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/301/8/900.pdf
- 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
- Build Your Question List(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/questionBuilder.aspx
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Talking with Your Doctor
(National Institute on Aging) - http://nihseniorhealth.gov/talkingwithyourdoctor/toc.html
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Understanding Medical Words: A Tutorial from the National Library of Medicine(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/medicalwords.html
- Discussing Sleep with Your Doctor(Harvard Medical School) - http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/video/sleep07_epstein_discussexam
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Physician-Patient Relations(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/term=physician+patient+AND+(relations+OR+communication)
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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
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: A piece of my mind. Collateral damage. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19383945&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Routine procedure. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19325329&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Communicating with seriously ill patients: better words to say. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19318656&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
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Some Common Abbreviations(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/appendixb.html
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Word Parts and What They Mean(National Library of Medicine) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/appendixa.html
- American Academy of Family Physicians - http://familydoctor.org/
- American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
- Following the Clues: A Visit to the Doctor and the Library(McGoogan Library of Medicine) - Also in Spanish and Sudanese-Nuer - http://www.unmc.edu/library/clues/
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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