Ask Your Doctor
To get the best quality of healthcare, a patient is as much an integral part of that team as the experts, specialists and other healthcare givers, treating the patient. Due to paucity of time during your medical appointments, you may feel rushed, but the doctor will always spare the time to answer any questions you may have. So here are a few questions you should ask to help you participate in your healthcare requirements.
- What is the seriousness of my medical condition and how will it affect my every day and work life?
- What were the causes and reasons for the condition to occur?
- What are the short term and long term prognosis of my condition?
- Are the symptoms limited to just one medical condition or should I expect other disorders too?
- Should I watch out for any other symptoms, other than the ones already specified?
- What are the tests I will need to take to diagnose my medical condition?
- What will these test results reveal?
- When will I receive the results?
- Will I need follow-up medical tests and follow-up visits?
- How frequent should my follow-up visits be?
- Do I need to take any precautions to avoid infecting others?
- What lifestyle changes should I make to help improve my condition?
- What treatment options do I have to treat my medical condition?
- How long will I have to undergo the treatment, before I can expect positive results?
- Will I have to watch out for any side effects from the medications that will be prescribed to treat my condition?
- What should I do if I have any side effects?
- What should I do if I miss a dose of my medication?
- Why do I need this surgery?
- What will be the process?
- Do I have any alternative options, if I wish to avoid surgery?
- How long will it take me to recover?
- How long will I have to stay in the hospital?
- What kind of anesthesia will be used?