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Communicate with Healthcare Providers

At SuperSmartHealth we encourage you to become the CEO of your health. As CEO, one of your top priorities is to ensure clear communication between you and your healthcare team (this includes doctors, nurses, physician assistants, office staff, pharmacists, physical therapists and trusted family and friends). To communicate clearly:

Take Responsibility and Be Proactive

Clear communication begins with an attitude of taking responsibility and becoming proactive. You are the person who has the greatest interest in your health. This is not a passive role of simply responding to questions and listening to what the doctor says, but taking the lead to ask questions and to keep asking questions until you are sure you understand everything you need to make an informed decision. Speak up, even if you feel intimidated by your healthcare providers.
Prepare for your Encounter
There may be a lot you want to cover in the short time you have with your provider. It’s also easy to forget what you wanted to ask when you are in the middle of an examination. Prepare before your encounter:
- List all the issues you want to cover with your doctor.
- Write down all your questions for each issue so you don’t forget them. The more you know the better questions you can ask. Reviewing the Framing Questions and Applying the Evidence sections of the EBM Resource Center will help you understand the important issues to consider around choosing treatment. We have also referenced two resources below that help you identify important questions to ask (see Ask Me 3 and Questions are the Answer).
- Be discerning about sharing information you’ve found on the Internet. Overloading your provider with too much information, particularly if it’s from unreliable resources, can eat into your visit. The Finding and Evaluating Evidence sections of the EBM Resource Center can help you identify higher quality information to share, from references your providers likely review when they have questions about your care.
- Assemble all other relevant information, such as vital signs you may have been recording, and your list of medications you are taking – better yet put them all in a brown bag and take them with you. (Medication errors are one of the biggest causes of medical errors. It’s critical that you reconcile your list of medicines with what is in your doctor’s chart to avoid duplication of treatment, drug interactions or other unfortunate events.) Assembling this information in a personal health record that you can share on paper and/or online can make this process more complete and efficient. For more information about this see the section on Personal Health Records above.
- Line up trusted family or friends you may want to bring with you for support. If there are any language barriers ask in advance about whether a translator can be scheduled for the visit or bring someone who would be skilled in interpreting for you.
Prioritize
When you meet with your provider go over the list of issues you want to address, recognizing you may not have time to cover them all. Work with you clinician at the outset to prioritize what can reasonably be accomplished in the time you have. This will likely be a balance of what is most pressing for you and the issues your provider anticipates will have the greatest impact on your health. Once you have prioritized, stay focused on the issues you want to address.
Be Clear and Complete
Clear communication also includes being detailed, comprehensive and candid in your answers or explanation. For example if your provider asks how you feel, responding “I feel bad” or “fuzzy” does not provide enough specificity for your provider to narrow in on a diagnosis. Be as precise as you can (what you feel, where you feel it, when you feel it, how long you’ve felt it and what makes it better or worse). For example, “I feel a burning type of pain in the mid upper abdomen that comes on a couple of hours after I eat. I feel a bit better after I drink some milk.”

Don’t leave things out, just because you are embarrassed by them or you feel your provider would not approve. Your provider can only help you to the extent of the information they have to work with. Moreover you can be harmed by giving incomplete information. For example, if you are reluctant to share with your providers the complementary and alternative treatments you are taking they may unwittingly prescribe medications that interact with these treatments.
Listen, Clarify and Record
It’s difficult to remember everything your provider shares with you in the encounter, particularly if you feel stressed. It is very helpful to make notes, or if your provider agrees, to tape record the session. This is also the reason it’s a good idea to bring a trusted family member or friend. They often pick up on things you missed and can be very helpful making notes on your behalf. Making notes also promotes understanding. As you write things down, it gives you the opportunity to ask questions to clarify anything you are unclear about.

One of the areas patients can get tripped up on is with “medspeak” used by providers or in research. In our Resource section below we have provided a number of references that can help you understand medical terms in plain English (see Deciphering MedSpeak from the Medical Library Association and the MedTerms, Merriam-Webster or Stedman’s online medical dictionaries).
Make your Preferences Known
Another priority as CEO of your health is to provide a clear vision for your care. After you have all the information you need, it’s important to let your providers know what is important to you so you can come up with a mutually agreeable plan. It can be detrimental to your care if you agree to anything you know you won’t do. It’s better to share your preferences with your providers so they can help you explore acceptable alternatives.
Ensure You Have a Clear Plan Forward
At the end of your encounter make sure you have a clear plan. Be clear about your treatments, tests and with whom and when you need to follow up. Paraphrase with your provider your understanding of what you will be doing and record this. Ask for handouts and reminders. If there are multiple members of your health team involved in your plan, make sure that everyone is communicating with each other and that the relevant parts of your health record will get to the individuals who need them.
Address Your Concerns
Sometimes you may feel unsettled by attitudes or actions of your providers or their staff. It is important to address these issues in a clear and calm way to avoid any underlying resentments that can erode an important relationship in your life, especially if this affects the quality of the care that is given to you or the way you receive it. It can be very helpful speak with your trusted family member or friend to ask for their impressions of a situation and how to most effectively communicate your concerns. Remember, this is not about blame, but rather clearing the air to ensure that you are getting the best possible care.
Respect Your Providers’ Time and Expertise
As important as it is to be proactive in your care, as CEO of your health it is equally important to respect the time and expertise of those who support you. Be mindful of what it takes to fully invest others in your health and well-being. It is a balance of asking for what you need, speaking up when you are unclear or feel uncomfortable about care you are receiving, and having realistic expectations and appreciation for what can be delivered.

Most healthcare providers deliver care under tremendous time pressures. If you feel rushed, you may want to mention this, but also be understanding of the limitations in which your provider practices. If you require more time, ask for it when you make your appointment, or schedule another appointment.

It’s also important to respect what your provider knows and equally importantly to respect what they don’t. With an overwhelming amount of information published in the medical literature, providers do not have the time and cannot be expected to know all there is to know in medicine. Furthermore, at the limits of medical knowledge, much is not known. Medicine is not an exact science. It’s a science of probabilities. Providers make their best estimates based on what they know to the specifics of your care. By learning how to search the Internet you can become an active participant to ensure the most relevant and current information will be material in decisions around your care. In addition, remember: you can always seek a second opinion.
Use Multiple Lines of Communication
Unlike many industries that provide 24/7 customer service, one of the biggest challenges and frustrations in the healthcare system for patients has been that health concerns have been addressed in the bottleneck of the clinical visit. It’s important to establish other lines of communication with your provider.

Ask your provider what is the best way to communicate with them outside of a face-to-face encounter. For some, telephone calls will be most efficient. For others, email may be best, particularly for those who have electronic health records that facilitate patient-provider communication.

For individuals who have difficulty traveling to see a provider (either because of distance or disability), the growing technology of telemedicine offers solutions and is transforming the way healthcare is delivered in many parts of the U.S. and the world. It enables providers to deliver remote care, which includes the ability to videoconference and “visit” with patients over phone lines or the Internet. If you are having difficulty traveling to seek your care, explore this possibility with your healthcare provider.

Resources

Super Smart Health

Empowering Health and Wellbeing

Communicate with Healthcare Providers