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As we age, many of us find ourselves with more doctors’ visits filling our calendars. While this is quite normal, what poses a challenge for many of us is effectively communicating with so many doctors and medical professionals.
Some older adults notice that it’s harder than it used to be to relay important information to doctors and to remember instructions after returning home or to an assisted living facility.
Today, we’ll cover some tips on how to effectively communicate with doctors and other medical professionals.
These suggestions will help you provide your doctors with the vital details they need to treat you. The tips will also help you to absorb information provided by your doctors and be able to remember it.
To effectively communicate with your doctor, you need to see one with an approachable demeanor. Find a doctor who genuinely cares about your needs and allocates enough appointment time to listen to your concerns and questions. If you find an approachable doctor, it will make everything easier.
Not only do you need an approachable doctor, but you also need one who communicates with you responsively—that is, when you need it.
Can the doctor—or the front-office staff—be reached by email or phone? By text or video chat? Via online portal messaging? If you have a medical problem after regular hours, can you get attention or help?
You may want to read some online reviews about your prospective doctor’s responsiveness. Being able to effectively communicate with a doctor means being able to reach them (or a key staff associate) and getting a response in a reasonable amount of time.
You should bring your pertinent medical information with you to in-person appointments or have it within easy reach during telehealth and phone appointments. This information would include treatment history, medical conditions and diagnosis information, a list of your current medications and dosages, and anything else that could be useful for the doctor to know.
File this information in a single place—either as hard copies in a physical folder or as digital copies in an online file with a storage provider such as Google Drive, Dropbox, or Microsoft’s One Drive. This will make it easier to hand over the papers or send a file link to your doctor to review. Doctors need to know your full medical history before they start treating you.
If you’re dealing with more than one medical issue, take a list of your conditions so that you don’t forget to mention anything to your doctor. Write down the issues, with the most important ones at the top of the list.In a short appointment with many distractions, it’s easy to forget critical things you intended to discuss.
It may sound like an obvious suggestion, but make sure you can see and hear adequately when you go to your doctor’s appointment. Don’t forget your reading glasses or your hearing aids. The lack of either one can make it much harder to communicate with medical personnel and to read the orders and referrals they give you. If you can’t read the paperwork given to you, you won’t catch potential problems until you get home. At that point, making changes requires more phone calls and possibly even another appointment.
If you have difficulty speaking and understanding English, take an interpreter with you for your appointment. This person could be a friend, relative, child, or advocate. Just because there is a language barrier does not mean that you should not receive adequate medical treatment.
Consider having a family member or friend come along for your appointment as a second set of eyes and ears. You’ll be more relaxed during the doctor’s visit, knowing that you don’t have to remember everything yourself. You can focus on talking with the doctor while your companion takes notes. Also, if you have problems effectively communicating with the doctor, your friend or family member can help fill the gaps.
Use the voice recorder on your phone or take thorough notes to capture all the essential information presented in an appointment. Don’t rely on your memory.
When you see your doctor, tell them about any recent medical developments or changes in your medications. This information could be key in terms of a new diagnosis or adjusted treatment options prescribed by your doctor.
Don’t pretend that you understand what your doctor is saying if you don’t. Your doctor might be providing you with a very important piece of advice, and if you don’t understand what is being said, the advice won’t help. Worse, there could be negative implications of not doing what the doctor is recommending.
If you don’t understand something, ask for an explanation.
Some doctors will prescribe a treatment or medication because that’s the protocol they’re most used to. Do your own research and be your own healthcare advocate. Know what other treatment options and medications are available and discuss the pros and cons of these options with your doctor. There can be multiple ways to address health conditions.
Finally, if you feel like your doctor is not giving you the care you need—or simply not listening to you–don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself.
You deserve to have a medical professional in your corner who cares about you. If you think your doctor isn’t doing their job, find a new one.
