My dear friends,
Is there really a right way and a wrong way to go to the doctor? Of course there is! When we the patient, or as I prefer to call us, “medical consumers,” go to the doctor we must be fully prepared. Sure you don’t feel well, naturally you’re scared, but just as the soldier on the frontline battlefields cannot indulge those feelings, neither can you. There is only so much time you are going to get once you enter the examining room, so you must make every second count.
Let me walk you through the process based on of my own experience.
Starting from when you make the appointment, get the name of the person you’re speaking with and request that any forms that may need to be filled out be faxed to you in advance so that you won’t have to deal with that in the outer office. Also fax them all of your insurance information and credit card info should any advance payment be necessary. Again, the less of this crap you have to deal with at the time of your appointment, the better.
Make sure you ask if any blood, urine, or fecal tests will be taken that may require you to fast for several hours prior to your appointment. Do not expect the person from the doctor’s office to be the picture of efficiency. In fact, expect just the opposite and cover as many bases as possible.
If there is anyway to NOT go on a Friday or right before a holiday, I advise you not to, as it just protracts the agony of waiting for test results and/or a prognosis.
If there is a procedure, test, or surgery that is pending the results of the exam, ask to pre-book in advance of seeing the doctor. The last thing you want to hear is something looks suspicious but you’ll have to wait two weeks to get an opening for that MRI or CT scan, not to mention operating room. These things can always be cancelled, but if they’re booked, you’re plain out of luck.
If you are getting a second opinion or being referred to a specialist, get involved in the transport of your previous test results. Imaging tests come on disc or film, or they’re digitized, and I recommend you pick them up from one place and hand deliver them to the other. The less middle men involved, the less opportunity for screw ups. Also have copies of all lab work results and doctor evaluations as well.
Prepare a list of questions that you or your loved ones want the doctor to answer. Don’t expect to remember everything because you won’t. Start your medical “grocery” list immediately and add to it as you think of the questions. That way, as you’re leaving the office, you aren’t there saying, “Crap, I knew I wanted to ask him/her that!”
Always go to the doctor with at least one other person whom you consider to be strong, confident, and in control. Your head will reel with all the information mixed with emotions that this sick person is YOU they are talking about. This person will be your eyes, your ears, your significant other. Don’t choose a person for whom you will need to be strong or have to calm down. This experience must be about you and only you. Bring them right into the examining room and never let them leave your side. Give them the responsibility of writing down notes, asking how to spell words and medical terms with which you are unfamiliar. Having a solid caring presence on your behalf to share the load lightens the burden of having to navigate through ominous un-chartered waters by yourself. Heed my warning and don’t try to go it alone, even if you feel you can. Every soldier needs a “buddy.”
