Okay, I do miss some of my doctor
appointments. Why does this happen? To be honest, I am not sure if
it is my subconscious kicking in and telling me to ignore it or
whether I am having memory problems. I do know that when the
weather is bad, I will not travel the thirty plus miles one way, and
I know that one got canceled (I actually called) because of the price
of gas and trying to stretch the budget.
My appointments have become too routine
and my lab results have been very consistent (boring comes to mind).
What puzzles me even more is how difficult it is to schedule several
doctor appointments in one day. In nine years of trying to do this,
I have only succeeded getting two doctor's appointments in one day
once – repeat one time. I thought I had done it three other times,
but one doctor always had to reschedule for some legitimate reason.
I do not like this, but things do mess with doctors schedules that
cannot be prevented.
I am discussing this because of a blog
in diabetesselfmanagement.com that brings up some excellent pointers
that we should follow to get the most out of our doctor appointments.
It is written for diabetes appointments, but I am covering all
doctor appointments. Read the blog and see how you compare and if
you are planning for a successful healthcare visit. I will cover
each point as well to show how I compare. First, I must state that I
have no problems with keeping my diabetes appointments. It is my
other doctors I have my problems in forgetting my appointments.
1. Make time for it (the appointment). As a retired person, I
seldom have any conflicts for my time – unless it is during the
winter months and the weather is bad. As suggested I do turn off my
cell phone and if I forget, most offices have reminders to do just
that. I have heard people talking on their cell phones during office
visits and I can understand doctors becoming very annoyed by this.
2. Plan ahead. Since we cannot remember everything to ask the
doctor, I do make a list of questions that I need covered. Then a
day or two before the appointment I try to prioritize them in order
of their importance to me. I print them out so that if time runs
out, I can hand it to the doctor and most of the time I will receive
something in the mail with answers, or some doctors will call and
give me the answer. Always record any activity out of the usual,
like job changes, travel, or other changes. For me this is not a
problem, but I do make mention of applicable health problems that
concern me. I have them written down and also have blank paper to
record instructions. I do repeat what I have written to make sure I
have understood what the doctor has said.
3. Bring your meter and logbook. Although many people will
not let their doctor have access to their meter, I think I get much
more out of my appointments as the doctor does download my meter and
reviews the readings and a couple of graphs with me. I always have
my logbook for food and insulin injections if it is needed.
4. Facing the scale. Get over it, the number is what it is
and you can only remove heavy clothing like a heavy winter coat. I
know this is the procedure for most of my office visits, so I have an
interest, but I do not obsess about it. I do get a few wry comments,
but I just say it is what it is and the topic usually is dropped. I
did have one doctor ask if I would consider bariatric procedure. My
instantaneous no response stopped him cold. He did ask why and I
carefully told him why explaining several of the things I would not
be told and the problems this could cause for me. He commented I
must have researched this and I hauled out a printout and he looked
at it and when he saw the source, handed it back. He said that he
had read it and agreed with it, but that the hospital was pushing all
doctors to try to see what could be done. He did say he would not
bring it up again with me, if I could hold my current weight or
reduce it, as he was looking at my weight chart and said I have been
up and down but that I was under what my highest had been. I told
him to look for possible alternatives, but to forget people that
insisted on the ADA way. He agreed and said I did not need the
calories or carbohydrates.
5. Discuss your medicines. This is important and is something
doctors are mostly requiring. Although the blog suggests a list or
the bottles, I normally use the list method, but I do have two
doctors that are now demanding the bottles before giving out any new
prescriptions or renewals. They are not requiring this at every
appointment, only when something is to be renewed. Some use
e-prescribing and a few still are not. This blog does what should be
done but few blogs do. It tells you to list all over-the-counter or
herbal products
Many people insist they do not have to
tell their doctor what supplements or other non-prescription
medications they are taking. I will say I record everything, even
prescriptions that are for short periods and I have not taken for
some time since the last appointment. I do list the period that they were
taken.
6. Take off your shoes and socks. For appointments with your
diabetes doctor and your podiatrist this is a must. You may not have
both, but you should consider this. Yes, it is a requirement for
your podiatrist, but may not be for your diabetes doctor or
endocrinologist if they know you see a podiatrist regularly. Either
way, you should consider this as being important for the health of
your feet. Even my neurologist surprises me once in a while when
checking my neuropathy.
Especially for your podiatrist be
prepared to discuss any foot-related concerns you may have. If you
have problems with trimming your toenails or finding shoes that fit,
and you don't have a podiatrist, ask for a referral to one.
7. Discuss your goals. Always be prepared for this,
especially for your diabetes and have questions at the ready for your
doctor as to how best achieve these. Be prepared as some doctors are
only interesting in the A1c readings and you may need to ask some
specific questions to convince the doctor you are serious. With all
candor, if your doctor is unwilling to listen and discuss your goals,
consider the need to find another doctor that will work with you to
achieve goals for both of you.
8. Bring your calendar. Always bring your appointment book,
or calendar (digital or paper) with you to schedule future visits.
Make sure that you allow sufficient time between lab tests and your
appointment to prevent conflicts or obtaining lab results. Always
ask for a copy of lab results to assist you in tracking your own
health.
9. Get the most from your minutes. This may seem difficult as
the 10 to 15 minutes go by fast. Accept that the doctor may feel as
rushed as you and you may have more questions than he has time to
answer. I admit this is often the case for me. So I prioritize my
questions to get the most important ones answered first. I am
fortunate that a few of my doctors realize that I have a list and
they do ask that I put my name, address, and telephone number on it.
I always do this and they generally take the list of questions and
answer them after hours or mail me the answers. One doctor does use
email to answer them. I have had one doctor then call if he has a
no-show to answer questions. Another doctor does answer the
questions and gives me my sheet with his answers at the next
appointment. This has let me know that I should be detailed in my
questions and a couple of the doctors have thanked me for doing this.
Not every appointment will go as
planned, so the better you have prepared yourself, the easier it can
be for both of you. Although this seldom happens, I did have one
appointment terminated as the doctor was called away on an emergency.
I did hear him instruct his nurse to get my list of questions and
give me my copy of the lab report as he hustled off. The nurse did
say that it way one of his family in the emergency room, but that was
all she said. Two days later, he called to ask if I understood the
lab reports and if I had paper and pen available. He answered my
questions after saying it was his wife that had been in a vehicle
accident.
This was totally appreciated and
explained why he had rushed off and I was very appreciative of his
time in answering my questions. In the appointments since, no
further mention was made of what happened and things were normal for
the appointments. This is just one more reason to have a list of
questions ready with your information included. I have found out
over time that most doctors will appreciate the questions printed out
in case they are short of time and the good ones will evaluate the
questions and respond to the important ones. Depending on the number
of questions, some do mail back the answers.
No comments:
Post a Comment