{"id":1188,"date":"2013-12-13T11:22:32","date_gmt":"2013-12-13T15:22:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hnetalk.com\/Member\/?p=1188"},"modified":"2013-12-13T11:22:32","modified_gmt":"2013-12-13T15:22:32","slug":"five-questions-to-ask-your-doctor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/five-questions-to-ask-your-doctor\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Questions to Ask Your Doctor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HNE\"<\/a>Have you ever had a list of questions in mind for your doctor only to get there and forget half of them? Do you leave the doctor\u2019s office and when a family member asks you what the doctor said you reply, \u201cI am not really sure\u201d? Unfortunately this happens to most of us. Here are a few things you can do that will improve your communication with your doctor and help to make sure you get the most out of your visit.<\/p>\n

Before you arrive for your appointment:<\/p>\n

If you have a lab slip from your doctor before your appointment, be sure to get the test(s) done the week prior to your appointment. This will ensure that your doctor will have the information he or she needs to provide you with the care you need.<\/p>\n

Make sure to ask about your lab results and ask the doctor to write them down for you. If you don\u2019t understand something, let your doctor know you are not completely sure you understand. This will allow him or her to explain it more thoroughly to you.<\/p>\n

Bring a list of all your current prescription and over-the-counter medications and the dosages. In addition, if you take supplements of any kind it is important to list them as well. Share this list with your doctor.<\/p>\n

Be sure to write down your health concerns\/questions and bring them with you to the appointment. Give the list to your doctor at the beginning of the appointment. Although you may not get through everything, it will help your doctor address the most important questions and\/or concerns on your list.<\/p>\n

During your appointment, if your doctor recommends a test, treatment or procedure be sure to ask the following questions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Do I really need this test or procedure? <\/b>Medical tests help you and your doctor or other health care provider decide how to treat a health issue. Medical procedures may help with either diagnosing or treating the issue<\/li>\n
  2. What are the risks? <\/b>Will there be side effects? What are the chances of getting inaccurate results? Could that lead to more testing or another procedure?<\/li>\n
  3. Are there simpler, safer options? <\/b>Sometimes all you need to do is make lifestyle changes, such as eating healthier foods or exercising more often. However, you need to be honest with yourself about whether you will stick to these changes to manage your condition more effectively.<\/li>\n
  4. What happens if I don\u2019t do anything? <\/b>Ask whether your condition might get worse \u2014 will it stay the same, or is it possible it will get better \u2014 if you don\u2019t have the test or procedure right away.<\/li>\n
  5. How much does it cost? <\/b>Ask whether there are less expensive tests, treatments or procedures, what your insurance may cover, and whether there are generic drugs you could take instead of brand-name drugs.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Use these five questions to talk to your doctor about which tests, treatments and procedures you need and which you don\u2019t need. <\/b>Some medical tests, treatments and procedures provide little benefit. Talk to your doctor to make sure you end up with the right amount of care \u2014 not too much and not too little.<\/p>\n

    Instructions for home<\/strong><\/p>\n

    If your doctor provides you with instructions to follow at home, be sure to ask him or her to write them down for you. This way you don\u2019t have to try and remember everything discussed during the appointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Have you ever had a list of questions in mind for your doctor only to get there and forget half of them? Do you leave the doctor\u2019s office and when a family member asks you what the doctor said you reply, \u201cI am not really sure\u201d? Unfortunately this happens to most of us. Here are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsletter","category-winter-2013"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/5Questions_WEB.png?fit=238%2C239&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6ZZGa-ja","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}