Health Gateway Program  

At Tutu's House

“Exploring health information on the Internet"

Tips for Talking to Your Doctor

Today, individuals need to take an active role in their health care. Individuals and their doctors work in partnership to achieve the best possible level of health. An important part of this relationship is good communication. Here are some questions you can ask your doctor to get your discussion started:

About My Disease or Disorder…

·         What is my diagnosis?

·         What caused my condition?

·         Can my condition be treated?

·         How will this condition affect my condition now and in the future?

·         Should I watch for any particular symptoms and notify you if they occur?

·         Should I make any lifestyle changes?

About My Treatment…

·         What is the treatment for my condition?

·         When will the treatment start, and how long will it last?

·         What are the benefits of this treatment. And how successful is it?

·         What are the risks and side effects associated with this treatment?

·         Are there foods, drugs, or activities I should avoid while I’m on this treatment?

·         If my treatment includes taking a medication, what should I do if I miss a dose?

·         Are other treatments available?

About My Tests…

·         What kinds of tests will I have?

·         What do you expect to find out from these tests?

·         When will I know the results?

·         Do I have to do anything special to prepare for any of the tests?

·         Do these tests have any side effects or risks?

·         Will I need more tests later?  

Understanding your doctor’s responses in essential to good communication. More tips:

·         If you don’t understand your doctor’s responses, ask questions until you do understand.

·         Take notes, or get a friend or family member to take notes for you.

·         Ask your doctor to write down his/her instructions to you.

·         Ask your doctor for printed material about your condition.

·         If you still have trouble understanding your doctor’s answers, ask where you can go for more information.

·          Other members of your health care team, such as nurses and pharmacists, can be good sources of information. Talk to them, too. (Source: National Eye Institute at http://www.nei.nih.gov/)

Find a Physician On-line Resources:

ABMS Certified Doctors (http://www.certifieddoctor.org/), provided by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), has two services. One is the Verification Service which allows you to verify the board certification status of any physician certified by at least one of the member boards of the ABMS. The second is the Search Service which provides contact information and possibly hospital and health plan affiliations for those physicians who have subscribed to this service.

American Medical Association Physician Select (http://www.ama-assn.org/aps/amahg.htm) provides information on virtually every licensed physician in the United States and its possessions. This database is searchable by name or medical specialty.

Docs Online(http://www.docsonline.com/) is a health care directory that enables you to locate dentists, physicians, health care providers or hospitals in your area based on your specific health care needs.

DoctorDirectory.com (http://www.doctordirectory.com/Doctors/Directory/Default.asp) Search for doctors by specialty or state/city. Provides address, phone number, year of medical school graduation, board certification, and specialty if available.

Find a Doctor or Search for Medical Information  (http://www.doctorpage.com/), for physicians and non-physicians, provides information on diseases and conditions, medical and surgical procedures, cosmetic surgery and medicine, finding a physician or a hospital and more.

Find a Naturopathic Physician (http://naturopathic.org/FindND.html) Searchable database of the members of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians.

Hawaii Psychological Association: Psychologist Locator (http://www.hawaiipsych.org/hpa-dir.html) Locate a psychologist in Hawaii either by area of specialty or alphabetically.

Physicians Directory (http://www.the-health-pages.com/physicians/) provides a list of physicians that have web sites.

Hospitals and Other Health Care Organizations:

American Hospital Directory (http://www.ahd.com/) provides a database of comparative hospital data. Available information includes hospital statistics, services provided, utilization statistics, financial statistics, accreditation status, and the hospital web page address.

Directory of Accredited Organizations (http://www.jcaho.org/qualitycheck/), offered by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, allows you to access details about a health care organization's accreditation performance.

Hospital Select (http://www.hospitalselect.com/curb_db/owa/sp_hospselect.main) provides basic information, beds & utilization, service lines, and accreditations.

HospitalDirectory.com (http://www.doctordirectory.com/Hospitals/Directory/Default.asp) Search by state. Provides address and phone number.

U.S. News Online: Best Hospitals Finder - (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/health/hosptl/tophosp.htm) Use this search page to find the top hospitals according to U.S. NEWS, by specialty, metro area, or name.