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Before You Go to the Doctor or Have Surgery:

What You Should Know

Most people feel at least a little uncomfortable about going to see a health care professional for an office visit or for a medical procedure. But by taking some time to prepare yourself, you can be ready to ask the right questions and get the answers you need to make informed decisions about your health care.

Preferred Care offers these simple tips to help you:

• Get the Most from Visits to the Doctor; and
• learn what Questions to Ask Before You Have Surgery.

Getting the Most from Visits to Your Doctor

Doctors' offices can be very busy places. Often, the doctor has reserved a certain amount of time to spend with you. For this reason, it' is important to get the most out of the time you spend with him or her. Here are some quick tips to help you get the most from your visit:

Be on time for appointments.

Arriving on time will help your doctor to see you in a timely fashion. There are times, however, when the doctor's schedule can become backed up. Preferred Care considers 30 minutes to be the maximum amount of time a member should wait to see a doctor for a scheduled appointment. If you wait longer than 30 minutes, speak with the office staff.

Get right to the point.

At the very beginning of the appointment, state the reason(s) for your visit. Studies have shown that you will get the best results if you state your concerns within the first two minutes of the visit.

Make a list.

For your first appointment with a physician, come prepared to give your full history. A list is helpful. Make sure to write down all medications (including over-the-counter, vitamins, and herbs) that you are taking. On a return visit, bring a list of your health changes or concerns since your last visit.

• The printable "first appointment" form in our online Health Encyclopedia makes it easy to be sure that you have the right information to share with your new doctor.
• You also can print out the medications list from our Health Encyclopedia and fill in information about your current medications.

Share information.

Give your doctor an honest opinion of your symptoms, effects of medication, and results of treatment. When you are telling your doctor about a symptom, try to be as specific as possible. This information will help your doctor find the cause more quickly.

• To help you describe a new symptom(s) or keep track of changes with an on-going health concern, visit our Health Encyclopedia and print out a form that you can share with your doctor.

Ask questions.

Any time you are uncertain about a medical procedure or don't understand the treatment your doctor recommended - just ask! Often it helps to make a list of questions to ask the doctor. You may want to take notes, or have a family member or friend with you to take part in the discussion or just to listen.

From the 2006 Preferred Care Member Handbook.

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Questions to Ask Before You Have Surgery

Are you facing surgery? You are not alone. Millions of Americans have surgery each year. Most operations are not emergencies. This means that you have time to ask your surgeon questions about the operation and time to decide whether to have it, and if so, when and where.

Preferred Care cares about helping you make informed decisions about your health. Before you have surgery, you can use the online guide offered by The Agency for health care Research and Quality (AHRQ) to make it easier to talk with your doctor and surgeon and get the answers you need. (Please note: this information does not apply to emergency surgery.)

The AHRQ's guide "Having Surgery? What You Should Know: Questions to Ask Your Doctor or Surgeon" is available online at http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/surgery/surgery.htm  and also in a printable booklet format (pdf) at http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/surgery/surgery.pdf

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Last updated: January 11, 2006