Asking Questions
to Get the Care You Need
By Carolyn M.
Clancy, M.D.
May 5, 2009
These days, an
appointment with your doctor may give you just
enough time to cover the basics: reviewing your
medical history, discussing the reason for your
visit, and finding out if you need followup
tests or medicines.
But medical
appointments usually don’t allow much, if any,
time for questions.
It’s hard to ask
questions when you’re not sure what the problem
is or how to express your concern. That’s why
it’s important to be prepared for appointments
by thinking of your questions before
your visit, writing them down, and bringing them
with you.
Make sure to ask
your doctor, "Is this a good time for me to ask
questions?" If it’s not, ask your doctor how and
when a time can be set up. By doing this, you
are telling your doctor that you need more
information.
Why am I
stressing the need to ask questions about your
health care? Because patients who ask questions
get better quality health care and can get
better results.
Here’s just one
example. It took 2 years of questions and
followup before actress and health advocate Fran
Drescher learned she had uterine cancer. Today,
Ms. Drescher is an 8-year cancer survivor, due
in large part to her asking questions that
eventually led to the correct diagnosis.
For many health
conditions, getting an early diagnosis improves
treatment results. In 2008, 40,000 women were
diagnosed with uterine cancer for the first
time, according to the American Cancer Society.
For those diagnosed early, the 5-year survival
rate is more than 95 percent.
To help patients
feel more comfortable about speaking up, my
agency, the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, and the Ad Council teamed up to produce
new public service announcements for our
Questions are the Answer campaign. (Other
AHRQ and Ad Council campaigns encourage
men to
get the right preventive care screenings and
encourage
Hispanic men and women to visit a doctor to
get preventive tests.)
The new campaign,
which began last month, builds on the original
campaign that was launched in March 2007. Those
ads reminded patients in a light-hearted way
that doctors "can’t read their minds."
In one of the new
ads, a confident, assertive woman asks a series
of questions to her waiter but clams up at her
doctor’s office. Another ad shows a man grilling
a salesperson on every feature of a new cell
phone but becoming silent in front of his
doctor. The take-home message: Ask questions of
your medical team.
You can see the
new ads at our
comprehensive Web site. In addition to the
ads, the site includes a list of 10 questions
patients should consider asking at medical
appointments.
The Web site also
features a "question
builder" that lets patients create a
personalized list of questions to bring to their
medical appointments. This is a very useful
feature because it’s easy to forget a
question - even a basic one - when we’re taking in a
lot of new information.
As a physician, I
know how important it is to hear a patient’s
questions because those questions can be the key
to providing the right care. And as a patient, I
know how important it is to be heard. Make sure
you think about your questions before visiting
your doctor and ask for the time and information
you need.
I’m Dr. Carolyn
Clancy, and that’s my advice on how to navigate
the health care system.
More Information
Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
Questions are the Answer
http://www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/
Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
Questions are the Answer (Public Service
Announcements)
http://www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/level2col_1.asp?nav=2colNav00&content=09_0_videos
Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
Build Your Question List
http://www.ahrq.gov/questionsaretheanswer/questionBuilder.aspx
Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
Real Men Wear Gowns
http://www.ahrq.gov/realmen/
Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality
Superhéroes
http://www.ahrq.gov/superheroes/
Current as of May 2009
Internet Citation:
Asking Questions to Get the Care You Need.
Navigating the Health Care System: Advice
Columns from Dr. Carolyn Clancy, May 5, 2009.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality,
Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/cc/cc050509.htm
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