How To Communicate Effectively With An Overworked Physician

Communicating with your primary care physician can be challenging. You may know that there is something wrong with your body, but you may feel as if you are just not effectively communicating this to your doctor. However, if you learn these communication techniques, your next visit to your doctor will be highly productive.

Come With Questions

Come to your appointment well-prepared with a list of questions and concerns that you would like to bring up to your doctor. Doing so will allow you to avoid forgetting any important issues that you would have wanted to bring up.

Take Notes

Take notes while you talk with the doctor. Make sure that you understand everything that you wrote down in your notes. Ask your primary care physician to explain any terms that you do not understand.

Access Your Records

Ask your primary care physician about how you can access your medical records. He or she will either be able to assist you with this or will be able to direct you to someone who can help you. You will need to be able to keep track of your treatments, diagnosis, medications and test results.

Make Your Doctor's Job Easier

It can be very difficult to get your doctor to listen to you because there are a lot of things that your doctor needs to record in order to meet requirements. Therefore, doctors are concerned about whether they are managing their time well enough. Therefore, it can be difficult for physicians to listen effectively. When you come prepared, though, with detailed explanations of what you are experiencing that can be delivered in an efficient manner, your doctor will have an easier time providing more direct answers.

Prioritize your concerns so that you can highlight the concerns that are the most important. Begin with that which you are the most concerned about and then work your way down to the issue that you have the least concern about. If your doctor is not able to get to all of your concerns, at least the one you are the most worried about will be addressed. Also, do not be afraid to ask for a follow-up appointment. This allows you to not only talk to your doctor about the progress you have made, but also bring up other issues that were not discussed earlier. All of this will reduce the risk that you will leave feeling like your visit to your primary care physician was not fruitful.


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