Using regular appointments to fine-tune your treatment
If you have high blood pressure, chances are your check-ups will be scheduled more often—especially if you were just diagnosed or your treatment plan has changed. Each visit gives you the opportunity to discuss how you’ve been feeling, as well as any concerns you might have.
The more prepared you are going into your doctor’s office, the greater your chances of getting feedback on how to achieve your best personal health. So, how to you make the most of your time with your doctor?
The Doctor Visit Cycle
It helps to think of your doctor visits not as a single event, but as a series that includes:
- The first visit or set of visits that lead to your diagnosis and initial treatment plan
- The time between visits, where you are writing down concerns or questions—continually preparing for that next touch base with your doctor
- Future visits, where you’ll talk about what’s working and what’s not—then make changes to your treatment plan to get you closer to your ideal health
“Many doctors are under pressure to spend less time during each patient visit,” says Simeon Margolis, MD, PhD, at Johns Hopkins. “So, you should make the best of each appointment with your doctor by planning beforehand, asking questions during your visits, and making written notes of answers and recommendations.”
Use this as your guide to getting everything you need from your doctor, during—and in between—each and every visit:
Prepping for Your Visits
Don’t walk into your doctor’s office without a plan. Maybe you’re feeling great and want to continue feeling that way. Or you might have areas where you’d like to see improvement. Doing a little legwork between visits will help you establish a clear agenda for each exam room visit. Here’s how:
- Review the concerns and questions that you’ve been writing down between visits. Make a list of your top three issues that you’d like to address, and bring it with you to your next visit. To help you prioritize, ask yourself which concerns can wait, and which can be answered by someone else, like a nutritionist or a nurse practitioner.
- When compiling your list, get as specific as possible. For example, instead of “I’m tired” you might say, “I have noticed that I tire more easily since we changed my medication.”
- Keep one notebook or computer document dedicated to your personal medical records. This can be as simple as a three-ring binder. Or, try sites like Google Health to log your information, like:
- All your doctors and their contact information.
- Any tests or procedures you have done. Include the name and date of the test, where it was performed and the doctor who ordered it.
- All the medications you are taking. Include ones that you take for shorter time periods, like antibiotics, with dates for when you were taking them.