september, 2019 | The Health
column
Communicating
with the doctors
get pregnant or you are already expecting. This
will allow your doctor to plan the medication
he is about to give you. Not all medications are
safe in pregnancy.
8
. Stressors and Social Habits: It doesn’t
matter what symptoms you have, if you
think you are disturbed by a certain stress - be
it at work, family, or kids, kindly state it or
write it down and pass it to your doctor. If
he cant help you with your stress, he will be
more than obliged to refer you to the relevant
department to aid your symptoms.
Here’s how you can create a more effective
communication between you and your doctor
I
n the last two articles, you read about
the ‘language of the body’, that’s what
doctors call a symptom. Never ignore
any symptom your body is highlight-
ing to you. Seek treatment as soon as
possible no matter how mild you might
think it is especially if it’s a repeated symp-
tom. Let your trusted doctor do the diagnosis
and prescribe a cure where needed.
For this week we will look into the ‘art and
science of how to talk to your doctor to get
your concerns across’. Time and again we
hear a discord between doctors and patients.
Where the doctor will claim that despite the
fact that they have explained everything yet
patient is not compliant to advice; be it diet or
medication. Whereas the patient claims that
the doctor just gave the medication without
explaining anything.
The above scenario has been going on for
long time since. While the world is trying to
figure out who is in the wrong, let us change
our view and learn to look at who is in the
right.
I can assure you that you are not alone.
The sad truth is that in our local eastern set-
tings the above scenarios are more common
than one would want to agree. Most patient
says the same thing and almost every doctor
is caught by surprise. The root cause of the
above mentioned problem in my opinion
would be: non-effective communication.
I will share with you the how to maximise
your precious consultation time with your
doctor. We all know that doctors are busy and
have loads of patients waiting to consult with
them. That said, is there an effective way to
communicate with your healthcare profes-
sional given the limited time you have with
him. The answer is a resounding YES!
The 10 Commandments of Effective Com-
munication with Healthcare Professionals
. Write It Down: Please take your time to
write down everything. Be it in a pad, like
the old fashion way or in your trusted phone.
Key is to write down everything in clear and
comprehensive manner. This is so that you
don’t forget to say certain symptoms, only to
remember when you come out of the consulta-
1
tion room. Don’t be shy to take out your note
and read it out or even show it to your doctor.
2
E.N.T
talk
. Write it in Chronological manner:
Write all your symptoms, each and every
one of them, but do it in chronological
manner. This allows the doctor to see the link
from one symptom to another in the manner,
which they occurred hence getting to the right
diagnosis.
4
. Previous and Current Illness: Have
you been diagnosed with any illness
recently, like asthma, diabetes, kidney disease,
cholesterol, high blood pressure, and others?
If you have been diagnosed and undergoing
treatment, please state everything in detail
and in chronological order. Do include if you
have recently went for traditional/alternative
therapies of various source.
5
. Drug Details: For all your medical
and surgical illness if ever you have been
prescribed any medication write it down. Or,
the quickest and simplest way around this is
to pack everything in a bag and bring it with
you during the consultation. That includes
your vitamins and supplements and herbal
medications if at all you are taking them.
6
. Reveal your Allergies: This is perhaps
the single most important thing you need
to pay attention and act on. Omission of such
fact may cause you your life. Take note of what
you are allergic to, be it certain medication,
food, environment, chemicals, insect bite etc.
Better yet, have an allergic card made out with
your name on it and tuck in your wallet/purse.
7
. Pregnancy history: Reach out to your
doctor, state it clearly if you are planning to
9
. Family history: Many chronic diseases
are genetically linked and hence may be
hereditary or familial. A simple headache you
persistently have is maybe due to high blood
pressure or migraine, which can be narrowed
down by knowing clearly the family history.
10
3
. Previous Surgeries: Let us know if you
previously had any surgeries, include all
details of the surgery as best as you can recall
even if it occurred in your childhood years.
This includes what was the symptoms at that
time, what was the diagnosis, where it was
done, which year etc.
19
By Asst Prof
Dr Shamim
Rahman
. Exercise your rights as a patient.
Now comes the time for you to know
your rights and exercise them.
• Never leave the consultation room without
knowing your diagnosis or a working diag-
nosis. In simple term know exactly what is
wrong with you and for what purpose they
are treating you.
• If you are not clear with any statement
kindly ask your trusted doctor to clarify, never
nod without understanding.
• Never sign any documents without reading
them. Make sure you understand what it is for
and what are the complications, if any.
• Never hesitate to seek second opinion. State
it clearly with your healthcare professionals.
No hard feelings here. Remember we are both
working with a same goal in mind and that
goal is none other then your health.
• Feel free to ask for time out to consult with
your family members regarding major deci-
sion. You can always reschedule for another
appointment.
• This is the era of information technology,
don’t feel shy to ask your doctor to write
down the diagnosis and other related things
pertaining to your disease. State clearly your
intent is to GOOGLE and do some research
of your own.
There you have it, the 10 Commandments
for effective communications with healthcare
professionals.
In our next article we will examine some
etiquettes of visiting healthcare professional.
Till next time,
Live well and guard your health. — The
Health
Asst Prof Dr Shamim Rahman is an Ear, Nose,
Throat, Head & Neck Surgeon who specialises
in Rhinology (Nose and Sinuses). He currently
resides at IIUM Medical Center Kuantan,
Pahang.