It is a good idea to be prepared for a medical appointment. This gives you a better chance of an accurate diagnosis and does not give rise to nagging questions after the appointment.
What information to prepare for the visit
Before you start asking questions, you need to let your doctor know what your health problem is. To do this, prepare:
- a list of symptoms that worry you, including when they appeared
- a description of the pain you feel, its frequency and intensity
- a list of the medicines and supplements you are taking, together with the dosage
- current test results
- the questions you want to ask.
With good preparation, your visit will go smoothly and you will have more time to talk to your doctor.
What questions to ask the doctor
The questions to ask your doctor will vary depending on the purpose of your visit. To prepare your own list, the following guide will be helpful What to ask the doctor during the visit. It was developed through cooperation between the National Health Fund and organisations within the Patients' Organisations Forum.
The questions in the guide are grouped into three large sections: (1) general questions, (2) diagnosis and treatment, (3) post-diagnosis, by disease. Each of these sections is divided into further thematic groups to make it as easy as possible to find the right questions for specific situations. You will find the following groups of questions:
- medicines
- preventive visit
- imaging tests or blood sampling
- diagnosis and treatment planning
- referral to hospital
- oncological diseases
- transplantology
- dementia
- cardiology
- diabetology - diabetes
- neurology - multiple sclerosis.
The guide allows you to create your own list of questions before a medical appointment. If you want to use the ready-made visit plan template - print out and complete the attachment to the guide My plan to visit the doctor. In it, you will find space for your most important notes, as well as the details of the doctor and the medical facility where you will receive medical treatment. By writing down the most important information in one place, you will feel more comfortable during your visit and be confident that you have received answers to all your questions.
Source: patient.gov.pl