How not to behave at a doctor's appointment

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Take 10 minutes to remember and write down how the symptoms changed, and do not hide bad habits from the doctor.

Medicine does not stand still: new discoveries happen every day, but, like 10 and 100 years ago, in order to collect a high-quality anamnesis, make a correct diagnosis and prescribe an effective treatment, the doctor needs to talk to the patient.

Unfortunately, the appointment time is always limited: for example, in state clinics, an average of 15 minutes is allocated for this. Can a doctor make a diagnosis and prescribe treatment in such a short time? Yes, if the patient is responsible for the doctor's appointment and does not make the following mistakes.

1. Come to an appointment without preparation

It would seem, how can you prepare if you know exactly what hurts you? The first thing that comes to mind is to take all the necessary documents with you: extracts, test results, photographs, and so on. You will also need to highlight the main complaints and tell in detail about the symptoms. Try to build a causal relationship with external and internal factors: remember when it all started and how your feelings changed. Also, be sure to tell your doctor about any medications you are taking or taking.

Sometimes it happens that after you have left the doctor, you suddenly remember that you forgot to ask an important question. To prevent this from happening, be sure to prepare a list of points of interest in advance.

And one more important point: do not hesitate to ask stupid questions. This will help the doctor understand how you feel about your health and, if necessary, find the right solutions to calm you down. People are very suspicious, and the doctor's task is to figure out where the patient is winding himself up, and where there is a real cause for concern.

Maxim Kotov, oncologist of the surgical department of head and neck tumors at the N. N. Petrov National Medical Research Center of Oncology

Often, at the reception, patients are lost already at the first question about the medical history: "Please tell us when the first manifestations of the disease appeared and how did they develop?" A detailed story about this really helps to make a preliminary diagnosis and prescribe the correct examination. Unfortunately, few of the patients the day before spent 10 minutes to remember (even better - write down) how the disease progressed. It happens that even complaints cannot be remembered, and then it is no longer the work of a doctor, but a detective show.

2. Wear unsuitable examination clothing

If the consultation involves an examination, then make sure you wear comfortable clothes so that you do not spend a lot of time undressing and dressing. It will not be superfluous to remind you that you should come to the reception in clean clothes, if possible, having previously taken a shower.

Lilia Uzilevskaya gastroenterologist at the medical center "Armed"

Sometimes, due to multi-layered clothing, an abundance of zippers and fasteners, the undressing and dressing procedure can take up to 10 minutes. In my opinion, one of the most inappropriate things to look at is a women's bodysuit.

3. Start with criticism

Many have faced neglect or misdiagnosis by a doctor. This is, of course, a traumatic experience, but there is no need to tell the doctor about the incompetence of another specialist from the start, and even more so for this reason, to express distrust. You should also not criticize the doctor's actions based on information from the Internet - it is better to ask questions.

If you feel that the doctor does not pay due attention to your words, is rude or wants to end the appointment as soon as possible, then it is better to look for another specialist.

I worked in the regional polyclinic, where "difficult" patients who had already visited many doctors before without much effect were admitted. Of course, some of them were negatively disposed due to their previous experience of interacting with the health care system. And this always became a big problem: it took additional time to move on to constructive interaction.

4. Lie to the doctor

There are a lot of reasons why people lie to the doctor: some have faced condemnation and do not want to repeat the painful experience, while others strive to appear better. Most often, patients withhold information about STDs, hereditary diseases, psychological trauma, and bad habits.

For effective treatment, you need to be as honest with your doctor as possible. A competent professional will not judge you for bad habits or diseases that you are ashamed to tell about. Remember that hiding certain factors can nullify the full effect of the prescribed treatment.

One of the possible reasons why patients lie or hide information is mistrust of the doctor or of the healthcare system in general. It is important for the patient to understand that withholding information can lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. To build a trusting relationship with your doctor, show him that his help is important.

Maxim Kotov

5. Ignore the incompetence of the doctor

The modern doctor should follow the principles of evidence-based medicine, and not rely only on his own experience. Do not be lazy and check what drugs and treatment methods the doctor has prescribed for you.

If a doctor uses methods of alternative medicine, for example, recommends homeopathic remedies or bioresonance diagnostics, this is a reason to doubt his competence (unless, of course, you deliberately contact an alternative medicine clinic). In order to avoid such situations, it is better to look for reviews about a specialist in advance.

If, after the consultation, you still have doubts about the diagnosis or treatment involves serious consequences for the body, then it would be useful to consult several doctors - this will help to avoid incorrect diagnosis and treatment. For example, a banal osteochondrosis, which some people have been treating unsuccessfully for years, may turn out to be a rare congenital ailment in which the cerebellum descends into the foramen magnum and compresses the medulla oblongata, which causes severe pain.

All doctors agree that it is better not to start the disease. See a doctor as soon as something starts to bother you. In addition, this will help you avoid the situation when you have to diagnose and treat several ailments at once, which have accumulated over many years of neglect of doctors. Be healthy and take care of yourself!