By Vicki Rackner, M.D.

Finding the right doctor is only half of the doctor-patient relationship. One of the most important steps in your healthcare team is YOU (or your loved one). Here are some suggestions for helping your doctor help you.

Tell your Story

Storytelling plays a central role in your partnership with your doctor. When your doctor asks, “How do you feel?” it is his or her way of saying, “Tell me your story.” Your doctor can diagnose your medical condition most of the time just by listening. Your unique health story includes the events that occurred in your body, your experience of those events and the way in which you bring meaning to them. Capture your story in your own words so your story makes sense to you.

Maintain Medical Records

Good medical care is based on access to complete and accurate medical information. The best way to assure that your doctor has the complete record is for you to bring your records with you to the appointment. You have a right to gain access to your medical record. Just call the office and say, “How do I get copies of my medical records?” Bring a self-addressed stamped envelope to each appointment and request that records and lab reports be sent to you.

Ask about Healthy Choices

At each visit, ask your doctor to identify lifestyle choices that support your health goals. Do not mistake early diagnosis for true prevention. If you ask the question, “How do I prevent colon cancer?” and get the answer, “Get a colonoscopy and pay attention to changes in your bowel habits,” you have just been given a standard doctor recipe.

That doesn’t really help you. You need practical advice. Ask your doctor, “What do I do to prevent the development of colon cancer instead of just detecting it early? What diet do you recommend? What about exercise or a daily aspirin?” You’ll get a much different response—and one that suits your needs better!

Set Reasonable Expectations

Expect that you won’t be at your best when you’re sick. You don’t have your normal stamina and your mind may be clouded by pain or medication. Times of illness are times in which you face three frightening conditions: pain, disability and death. Many feel like helpless children when they’re sick.

Plan for fear. Expect you will not hear or absorb most of what your doctor tells you, so bring a friend and your personal health journal with your medical records and a pad of paper to each appointment with your doctor. Tell your doctor what scares you. And don’t worry alone. Give yourself a break if you feel like a frightened kid wanting your doctor to step in and take care of everything, like your parents did. It’s normal.

Manage Medical Information

Information is powerful medicine. Just as with any other medication, you need to take the right dose. Take too much and you can experience toxic effects. Take too little and you will not experience its benefits. Identify your own optimal dose of medical information. One patient said to me, “Doc, I don’t want to hear about side effects. I’ll get every one.” Another patient came with a file box filled with her research.

Make Smart Medical Choices

When it comes right down to it, your job as a patient is to make medical choices that best serve you. Informed consent is not a form you sign; it’s the process of making informed medical choices by weighing the risks and benefits of a plan, and comparing different options. Your medical choices fall on your shoulders for several reasons. First, you know your own risk tolerance and your perception of benefits.

For some, the side effect of nausea is a mild annoyance while for others it’s agony. Make your decisions with your personal needs in mind. By communicating your needs to your doctor, he or she can help you make better choices.

Be sure to get the help and support of your doctor all along the way!