Introduction
The pace of life is getting faster. Everyone is in a rush and nobody wants to wait for anything; patients do not like to wait and physicians do not like to keep patients waiting. Instead of spending time in the waiting room tapping your foot impatiently, you may be able to better use the time by preparing for the doctor visit. Advanced planning can help you get more out of your visit. There are preparations you can make before each doctor visit that can be organized in a personal healthcare book. Doctors are trained to recognize disease states by the pattern of symptoms the diseases create. If you have prepared for your doctor visit by listing your symptoms, you will be better able to answer your doctor's questions, which can benefit your care.
Doctor Visit Preparation: When You Are Sick
When a doctor visit is the result of an illness, people immediately ask, “What do I have?” In preparing for this type of visit, the patient's goal should be to help the physician answer that question. Like a detective, the doctor will want to know all sorts of things about your particular illness, such as how, what, when, and where the symptoms are occurring in the body. Preparing outside the office in a less rushed atmosphere allows for better recall. Sit, think, organize, and write down your thoughts to answer the following types of questions.
- How long has it been going on?
- How has it changed over time?
- What was the first thing you noticed?
- What alarmed you enough to come to the doctor?
- What did it feel like?
- What other symptoms appeared?
- What were you doing at the onset of symptoms?
- What made your symptoms worse?
- What made your symptoms seem to get better?
- When did the symptoms start (day or night, morning or evening, etc.)?
- When did the symptoms start (related to a new medicine, stress, injury)?
- Where in your body was the symptom first located?
- Where did the symptom move?
- Where did new symptoms appear next?
