As the world of healthcare evolves at an increasingly rapid rate, patients are being overwhelmed with the amount of knowledge coming their way. With recent advances in genomic studies and use of robotics, even physicians are having a difficult time keeping up with all the new knowledge. I often find patients lost in this vast amount of data. They have gone to a specialist and do not understand what the specialist had explained to them. Or they researched something on the internet but there is so much information it is frequently impossible to know what is the truth and what is just hype. similarly, many times patients take medications that they don’t why they are taking it or even what the medication is. This can pose a dangerous situation if a patient goes for medical care with another provider. Patients should have a clear understanding of their medical problems and the reasons they are taking medications. If they don’t, they should get their doctor to try to help them to understand. This is just as important as taking the medication.
What Questions Should Patients Ask Their Doctor?
1. Why do I need to take this medication?
2. What are you treating with this medication?
3. What are the side effects of the medication? Which ones should I expect and which ones are less common?
4. Why do I need to get this test? What are you looking for or trying to rule out?
5. What does this test result mean?
6. If all my test results came back normal, why am I still feeling like this?
7. What are the next steps?
8. Are there any alternatives I should consider before making a decision?
9. When you tell me to eat healthier, what do you mean?
10. What exercise do you recommend? How much and what type especially for someone with my health condition?
11. When should I expect to feel better?
12. When should I be concerned if I don’t feel better?
13. I don’t understand, can you explain?
14. What in my family history is truly significant to my health?
15. Are there other tests I should consider that may not be covered by insurance?
These are just some questions as an example of what questions patients should be asking. Patients are more likely to take the medications they need when they understand. And patients need to know all the information possible to make truly informed decisions regarding their own health care. It needs to be a team effort.
