American Medical Association Guide to Talking to Your Doctor

257 Pages·2001·1.52 MB·English

by  The American Medical Association

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Guide to
Talking to Your Doctor
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Guide to
Talking to
Your Doctor
Angela Perry, MD
Medical Editor
J O H N W I L E Y & S O N S , I N C .
New York • Chichester • Weinheim • Brisbane • Singapore • Toronto
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Copyright © 2001 by American Medical Association. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Design and production by Navta Associates, Inc.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of
the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission
of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee
to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923,
[phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission
should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605
Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, [phone], fax [phone],
email:
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Foreword
Most of us think of medicine as a high-tech science, which it is.
But for doctors, the core of their practice is their interaction
with patients. Good medicine is a partnership between doctor
and patient, whether the doctor is performing a physical exam-
ination or listening carefully to a patient’s description of his or
her symptoms. The American Medical Association Guide to Talking
to Your Doctor is designed to help nurture and strengthen this
relationship.
If you are reading this book, you have decided to take
responsibility for your health and you want to learn how to get
the information you need to help you make informed decisions
about your healthcare. You may have older or younger family
members whom you accompany to the doctor, and you want to
help them get the best care possible. Perhaps you need a spe-
cialist or have moved to another town; this book explains the
resources you can tap into to find a doctor in your new commu-
nity. One of these resources is the American Medical Associa-
tion Web site at http://www.ama-assn.org (click on Doctor
Finder).
v
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vi FOREWORD
This book gives you information about how to prepare for a
doctor’s visit or phone call. Should you tell your doctor about an
alternative treatment you are using? Should you ask about a
medication you saw advertised on television? If you need to
undergo a diagnostic test, how do you find out how the test is
done and what to expect during the test? At some time in our
lives, each of us will have a health problem that we would rather
not discuss. The section in the book on talking about sensitive
subjects gives you some helpful tips on how to bring the subject
up and gives you the encouragement to do so.
We at the American Medical Association hope that this
information will help you feel more confident and comfortable
the next time you visit your doctor. We wish you and your fam-
ily good health.
American Medical Association
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The American Medical Association
Robert A. Musacchio Senior Vice President, Business and
Membership
Anthony J. Frankos Vice President, Business Products
AMA Press
Mary Lou S. White Editorial Director
Patricia Dragisic Senior Managing Editor
Donna Kotulak Managing Editor
Robin Fitzpatrick Husayko Senior Editor
Claudia Appeldorn Copy Editor
Mary Ann Albanese Image Coordinator
Reuben Rios Editorial Assistant
Roger Banther Editorial Assistant
Medical Editor
Angela Perry, MD
Writers
Steven Michaels
Ellen Hughes
Acknowledgments
Bruce Blehart, JD Health/Law Litigation
Arthur Elster, MD Integrated Clinical and Public
Health/Science
Linda Emanuel, MD Ethical Standards
Kathryn Meshenberg Ethical Standards
Leatha Tiggelaar Science, Technology, and Public
Health
Patricia Watson Ethical Standards
Mathew Wynia, MD, MPH Ethical Standards
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Contents
I N T R O D U C T I O N 1
1 . C H O O S I N G A D O C T O R 5
What are you looking for? 5
Other issues to consider 6
How to go about choosing a doctor 8
Your rights and responsibilities as a healthcare
consumer 9
2 . W H A T Y O U R D O C T O R W A N T S T O K N O W
A B O U T Y O U 1 3
Personal health history 14
Your child’s health history 23
Family health history 27
Medications 29
Self-treatment 31
Lifestyle 33
3 . T A L K I N G A B O U T Y O U R H E A L T H
A N D M E D I C A L C A R E 3 7
Planning in advance what to say to the doctor 37
Making the most of an office visit 40
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