"Talking With Your Doctor: A Guide For Older People" offers many tips for improving patient-doctor communication. This easy-to-read, LARGE PRINT booklet, developed by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), is useful not only for older people, but for anyone who wishes to have a comfortable relationship with a doctor.
Some of the helpful topics covered are:
Choosing a Doctor You Can Talk To helps you decide just what is most important when selecting your doctor, how and where to find doctors who fit your needs, and how to learn more about their professional qualifications and office policies before you make an appointment.
Getting Ready for Your Appointment gives you tips on what to bring with you to your appointment, what you should do if you are hard of hearing or don't see clearly, and what you need to tell your doctor about yourself.
Sharing Information With Your Doctor stresses the importance of being honest and straightforward when talking with your doctor. Ask questions when instructions aren't clear, when you don't know the meaning of a word, or about what a medical test involves. This is the key to getting what you want from your visit.
Talking With Your Doctor gives helpful samples of questions you can ask your doctor about everything from prevention of disease and disability to going to the hospital or having surgery. The booklet also includes pointers on how to discuss sensitive or embarrassing problems like memory loss, depression, sexual function, and urinary incontinence. It also covers how to prepare written instructions about how you would like to be taken care of (called advance directives) if you ever become too ill to make your wishes known.
For a free copy of "Talking With Your Doctor: A Guide for Older People," call the NIA Information Center toll-free at 1-800-222-2225; TTY 1-800-222-4225. The document is also available on the web at: http://www.nih.gov/health/chip/nia/talking/talk.htm. You also may want to encourage your doctor to order this publication for his or her office. --an NIH HEALTHWise report, January 1998
For more information, reporters can contact:
Betty Riley Writer and Editor, NIH Phone: 301-496-8855 Fax: 301-496-0019 E-mail: rileyb@od.nih.gov
Freddi Karp Editor, National Institute on Aging Phone: 301-496-1752 Fax: 301-496-1072 E-mail: karpf@exmur.nia.nih.gov
Before your appointment, make a list of health concerns you want to talk about and be sure to take notes when given instructions. Your doctor needs to know about ALL the medicines you are taking, including those that don't require a prescription like pain relievers, vitamins, eye drops, or laxatives. Some people find it helpful to put them all in a bag to take with them when going to the doctor. If you are diagnosed with a medical condition, talk about what may have caused it and what treatments are available. Your doctor may have printed information on your condition that you can take home. If not, ask where you can find out more about your condition. If you start taking a prescription drug, be sure to ask your doctor or pharmacist about possible side effects, how long you must take the drug, and what to do if you miss a dose. Your pharmacist can also fill your prescriptions in easy-to-open containers and may be able to provide large-print prescription labels.
Your doctor needs to know about ALL the medicines you are taking, including those that don't require a prescription like pain relievers, vitamins, eye drops, or laxatives. Some people find it helpful to put them all in a bag to take with them when going to the doctor.
If you are diagnosed with a medical condition, talk about what may have caused it and what treatments are available. Your doctor may have printed information on your condition that you can take home. If not, ask where you can find out more about your condition.
If you start taking a prescription drug, be sure to ask your doctor or pharmacist about possible side effects, how long you must take the drug, and what to do if you miss a dose. Your pharmacist can also fill your prescriptions in easy-to-open containers and may be able to provide large-print prescription labels.
