[2022-06-16] Getting what you need from medical appointments
Today, I delivered a speech to former colleagues at Health Canada as part of National Public Service Week celebrations. I shared how their work had helped ensure that the medical teams who treated me had access to medical devices and drugs needed to prolong my life, and that I had access to medical devices and drugs to make all the interventions I've undergone in the last two years more tolerable.
Among the questions I received was one about how to get the information we need from our doctors or other healthcare professionals to make sound decisions. I offered a few suggestions:
- Draft your questions in advance. Run them by a friend, family member or coach. If this person is a medical professional or has already gone through something similar to you, you'll be even better prepared. Before my discussion with a breast surgical oncologist about options to address my high risk of developing breast cancer, I wrote and reviewed my questions with my cancer coach.
- Bring your concerns or any changes in your health to the appointment. Before the appointment, make a list of any concerns you have that you would like to discuss in the meeting and any developments in your health, such as adverse reactions to a drug or changes in your appetite or sleeping habits. I do this for every medical appointment.
- Invite someone to join you. This could be a partner, a family member or a friend. Again, if this person has a connection to the medical field, you'll be even better positioned. Your companion can remind you of questions you intended to ask and can take notes. In the early days of my diagnosis and treatment, I often had my niece, who is a nurse, join my calls. The doctors who treated me were very open to my having another person on the line during both in-person and phone calls.
- Ask lots of questions. This can include asking what certain terms mean or requesting that they explain a concept again. Keep probing until you get the information you need to make an informed decision. You might ask:
- What are the options for treatment?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?
- What are the risks of each option?
- How likely are these risks to occur?
- What are the risks of doing nothing?
- Take notes. It's amazing how much we forget and how much we don't actually take in during conversations with healthcare professionals even though we're hearing the words and writing them down. I've often looked back at my notes only to realize that the doctor had said several things that I didn't internalize at the time. Even if your companion takes notes, jot down your own, which makes it easier to compare notes after the appointment.
I've had more medical appointments in the past two years than in the previous 54. So I've learned, through trial and error, how to get the most out of each one. Medical issues are complex; we need as much information as possible to make the best decisions. As I've said many times, you are the head of your medical team. Be informed.
