Patient Safety

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"Effectively Communicating with Your Physician"

As a patient, you expect your physician to provide you with the highest level of care possible. However, this can only happen if there is teamwork between you, the patient, and the physician.

One way that this goal may be achieved is through effective communication. As patients, we often perceive that our physicians are not communicating effectively with us. However, as patients, we often do not communicate effectively with our physicians. We expect our physician to tell us what we want to hear, and often leave the office dissatisfied because we never communicated to the physician the necessary information or asked important questions. In order to be a more informed and satisfied patient, the following tips may be helpful on how to communicate with your physician:

1. ASK QUESTIONS – No question is a dumb question, especially if your health depends on it.
2. Take a written list of your concerns to the visit with you.
3. Take notes during your office visit. You can never remember everything that your physician has told you.
4. Take a friend or family member along if you have trouble communicating with your physician.
5. Tell your physician of any changes that may have occurred in your health.
6. Listen to your physician.
7. Make sure that you know the phone numbers and emergency contacts of your physician’s office.
8. Compliment your physician, they are human too and need positive reinforcement as well.

Through effective communication, you not only receive a high level of service, but you also improve the quality of your life and health.