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How many times have you been to the doctor and felt rushed. Maybe you have forgotten something that you wanted to discuss with them. You may have been under stress yourself due to whatever health issue that you are dealing with. Perhaps you were not thinking as clearly as you should. At the same time the doctor is in a hurry. He or she has a lot of patients and they only make money if they are seeing patients. It is not about how long they spend, it is about how many they see every day that determines how much money they make. They are in a hurry and this also adds stress to your visit to the doctor. This is why you should organize your doctors visit.

Organize Your Doctors Visit

One way to deal with doctor’s visits is to be organized about what you want to do. Write it down.  Take notes. If it is a complex health issue or if you do not feel up to it, you may want to bring someone else along to listen and to take notes. Most doctors are comfortable with this and if they do have concerns, all you need to say is that you are having trouble remembering everything they tell you and that is why you take notes.

How to Prepare for a Doctors visit

Set an agenda. List the items that you want to discuss with the doctor. Tell the receptionist  what will be discussed. She will allocate sufficient time for your visit.

Identify your goals – set a goal for your visit. Renew your prescriptions. Make an appointment for a specialist. Arrange for blood tests etc.

Follow good communication strategies – organize your thoughts and stick to your topics. Don’t go off on a tangent and do not raise topics that are not on your agenda. Focus on what you have to achieve for your visit.

Anticipate the doctor’s questions – there is a lot of information that can be discussed at your doctor’s visit.  Being prepared with answers will reduce the time needed and demonstrate to the doctor that you are preparing for the visit and being thoughtful of his time as well.

Schedule more time

List the topics and goals for your doctor visit. Then communicate these to the receptionist who schedules visits. There is nothing worse than going to see the doctor, getting half way through your issues and then he says you will need to make another appointment. Schedule enough time ahead of time helps you, the doctor and the other patients. Everyone hates waiting for a doctor who is never on time.

Care givers must be diplomatic – if you are a care giver and helping your patient, your mother or father or a sibling get to the doctor, diplomacy is going to be very important. The relationship is between the doctor and the patient. As a care giver you need to be respectful of this relationship.  Take notes which are helpful for everyone. Including family members that may not be able to attend the visit with the doctor.

Special Caregiver Instructions

As a care giver, you can also help to run the doctors meeting on behalf of your patient, friend or relative. Follow the above guidelines.  It will help a lot if you organize your doctors visit. For more information about your health, and related issues, click here.

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