Inspiration And Expert Advice: Expert Columns

Be sure you understand. It is hard to remember everything your provider tells you during an appointment. There’s often lots of information, and you might be feeling a bit nervous, which makes remembering even harder. Besides, health care providers don’t always communicate clearly.

Sometimes providers give instructions without enough details: “you need to be more active,” or “take this pill four times a day”, for example. Other times providers talk in “medicalese”, a language that’s foreign to anyone who has not gone to medical school or nursing school. Unfortunately, health care providers are so used to speaking medicalese that they rarely realize when patients don’t understand what they are saying. You can help your health care provider – and more importantly yourself – by asking your provider to explain anything you don’t understand. Ask your provider to repeat what he said, to say it in other words, or to write it down, anything that helps you understand. Speaking of writing things down, taking your own notes during the visit, or having a companion do it, is a good idea. And at the end of the visit to be sure you understand your provider’s recommendations, repeat those suggestions in your own words and ask if you have missed anything.

Maintain contact. When you get home from your appointment, write down the changes you plan to make if you haven’t already done that; also check the list of problems and questions you took to the appointment to be sure you talked about everything important. If you have any questions or concerns, call your health care provider for answers right away, so you will be ready to put your new treatment plan into effect. Call your health care provider whenever you feel stuck, whether the problem is putting a new care plan into action, or unforeseen troubles you confront between visits. Call at the earliest sign of trouble, to make getting back on track as easy as possible. Be sure to keep all your doctor’s appointments. Your health care providers can help you live better with diabetes, and I hope the tips in this column help you make the most of their expertise.

Richard Rubin, PhD, CDE, is an Associate Professor in Medicine and in Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. An active member of the American Diabetes Association and the American Association of Diabetes Educators, Dr. Rubin has written over 100 articles, books, and book chapters for people with diabetes and for diabetes health care providers. He writes about emotional and behavioral issues related to diabetes for dLife.