By Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Not too long ago, caregivers and loved ones would come into the doctor’s office with lines of questioning that began with “What should we do?” More often these days we’re hearing conversations starting with “Do you think we should?”  Sometimes these questions even include treatment options that are insightful. Occasionally it’s even a treatment option that we—physicians with framed degrees and everything—had not considered.

Smart patients and their caregivers can’t be passive. You need to be a first-rate Sherlock Holmes, asking intelligent questions and having the instincts (and guts) to politely challenge things you don’t understand. 

Help your Doctor Help You

You don’t need to know all the technical, medical details about a health problem, but you should find out the basics.  As a caregiver you no doubt will be leading the team of physicians and health care experts —working together as savvy detectives charged with interpreting even the tiniest clues to come up with a diagnosis and a treatment plan.

Did you know that more than 80 percent of health problems can be diagnosed by the information the patient provides his or her doctor?   So how much information is enough?  Before your appointment, ask questions of your friend or loved one to get as thorough an understanding of the symptoms as possible. 

Let’s take a headache as an example. 

• Where: Where is the pain?  At the front, in the temples, at the base of the skull, or throughout the entire head?
• What:  What kind of pain it is?  A dull throbbing, a sharp piercing, or a constant ache? What makes it worse? Movement? Noise? 
• When: When did the headaches start?  Have you been able to do anything to make them better?  Does it wake you at night or keep you from sleeping?
• Cause:  Have you noticed what, if anything, triggers the symptoms?
• Severity:  How bad is the pain or symptom?  Rate on a scale of one to ten with one being no pain and ten being the worst pain you can imagine.
• Previous or current treatments:  Have you tried any medications, dietary changes, or other treatments?  Have they made a difference in your symptoms?

OK, so you and your loved one have given as much relevant detail as possible.  Now your doctor recommends an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), or a CT (computed tomography) scan, or some other test that goes by a string of letters. 

Before you run off and complete any tests, get more informed by asking the doctor the following questions:

• What does this test measure and why is it needed?
• What could happen if he/she doesn’t have the test?
• Are there any alternatives to the test?
• How accurate is the test and how often does it give false positives?
• What can go wrong?
• How should I help my friend/loved one prepare for the test?
• How will my friend/loved one feel after the test?
• When will we get results and what is the ideal result?
• Which lab is processing the test? Are they accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations at www.jcaho.org or by the College of American Pathologists at www.cap.org?
• After getting the results, what would the next step be?

How you educate yourself, explain facts, ask questions, and lead your loved one’s health care team is crucial in a caregiving situation where the actual patient may not be totally capable of communicating with their health care providers on their own. 

You can use these techniques with any healthcare condition. Everyone can benefit.

Make the communication a two-way street.