Preparing for your visit
As a physician, our job during your visit is to get to know you – to ask the right questions, listen actively, and make concrete, understandable suggestions for you. Your role is to give us the detailed information we need to make a decision on how best to treat you. It’s a partnership, so please be honest. If you won’t exercise, tell us. If caring for a family member is becoming too much of a burden, let us know. If you don’t understand the instructions on your medication, ask questions. Together, we can almost always come up with a solution.
We also can make the most of your visit if you’ll take a few minutes beforehand to think about your answers to the following questions.
What are you visiting for?
Is this a routine check-up?
- If so, have you had any changes in your health or lifestyle since our last visit?
- Do you have any symptoms you didn’t have before?
- What are your diet, exercise and sleep habits? Any changes in these?
- What medications do you take? (Make a list of them, or simply
- bring all your medications with you.) Any over-the-counter medications?
- Do you take vitamins or supplements? What kind?
Are you here because you’re ill?
- What are your symptoms?
- How long have you had them?
- Do you have a fever? If so, for how long? How high is it?
- Have you been treating the symptoms? How?