The feedback I got from last week's newsletter prompted a great conversation with friends on the trail about how to have a productive conversation with our providers. Communicating with health care providers is a ubiquitous challenge so today's newsletter is all about how to do just that.
Here are four tips I have learned through advocating for myself and for my patients over the years.
Write your questions for your doctor out in advance
I know for me, as soon as I step into that office with white walls and one photo of a beach, my questions are suddenly all over the place and seem small, no matter how pressing they felt the night before when I was laying in bed. Having the list in my hand makes it easier to stay on track so I leave with all my questions answered.
Give specifics about how an issue is impacting you
One friend shared a personal example, “when I saw multiple doctors for my big toe last year, the doctor who finally listened to me heard me say, “I can’t walk more than 3 blocks.” That was what made them start taking me seriously.”
Why this matters: These specifics help providers put your health issues into context of your life. A doctor might be trying to prioritize your cholesterol because this looks like the biggest red flag for them, not realizing that you aren’t taking care of your heart health because your big toe hurts too much to do cardio. The root issue is actually the toe. If it’s a matter of a toe versus heart health and what to prioritize, the heart does seem more pressing, until you hear the rest of the story.
If it's not clear, ask "what is the plan?"
How many times have you left an appointment and wondered, “Wait, what exactly is this prescription for, how long do I take it, and if that doesn’t work, what do I do next?”
Use this ad-lib to confirm you’re on the same page as your doctor.
“Just so that I understand, the plan is to try _______ (doc’s first recommendation), and if I don’t notice _______ (sign of improvement) in ________ (number of days, weeks, or months), I should ________ (follow up action or plan B). Did I understand that right?”
Repeating back to them what you understand the plan be let's them know if there was a miscommunication so that they can clarify, and let's you know that you got everything you needed to know. Make sure you leave with a solid understanding of the plan. If the doctor snuck out before you realized your appointment was over (this has happened to me more than once) ask the tech or nurse that follows up with you after. They can grab the doctor if they don't know. You deserve to know the plan before you leave the office.
Make a symptoms diary for on-going issues
These can be helpful for tracking changes over time. I have people use a symptom diary for chronic injuries like tendinopathies. If you’re dealing with an ongoing issue and want to know why it’s not improving, these can be a helpful tracking tool to share with your physical therapist or doctor since we are often catching up on a lot of time between visits.
Things that are helpful to track about an injury might include using a 10 point scale for pain, a single word or two to describe pain or symptoms, time of day that it’s at its worst, and activities that you did each day. Keep your notes short and to the point, a spreadsheet and single word answers or numbers are helpful. It can be tempting to write a paragraph about each instance but remember we are looking for trends and these are often easier to spot with concise data points. Things that might be relevant for other ongoing issues include diet, sleep, or mood. Ask your doctor if there is anything you should pay special attention to.
I hope you can use one or more of these to get the most out of your next visit with a health care provider!
Warmly,
Katy
P.S. In physical therapy we have a funny little truism that “it always comes back to the big toe.” Obviously not always true, but true a surprisingly often amount of the time. I'm taking an informal poll of who has experienced this. So tell me, have you had an injury that related to your big toe?