What’s Up Doc?
Doctor Types: What type of medicine did your doctor study? What medical mindset does your doctor use, today? Your doctors’ education & current practices drive the way they diagnose, treat, prescribe & teach. Some common medical practice names are: Conventional, Lifestyle, Functional, Integrative, Complementary, Alternative, Complementary-Alternative, Comprehensive, Osteopathic, Cenegenics & Contemporary. With each practice, there may be overlapping concepts & notable gaps in how a doctor approaches their patients’ care. As you get to know your doctor’s mindset, you will better understand your own view of your personal health. Spoiler Alert!: Medical practice names will be defined in next week’s blog.
Go Prep Yourself: Prep yourself for every doctor’s visit. By following these basic prep tips, we can increase the value of every doctor’s visit. Write down all your: 1) diagnoses, 2) prescribed medications, 3) medications you actually take, 4) supplements/herbs you take, 5) recent symptoms (including any usual, unusual or changes), 6) health & treatment questions, 7) lifestyle changes that you are doing/considering (e.g. nutrition, activity/exercise, substance use, supplements, herbs), 8) medication questions (e.g., side-effects, interactions with food/supplement/other medications), 9) lab/diagnostic results, 10) ask about lifestyle changes to help your body heal & maximize your health. And, don’t forget to review your previous visit’s follow-up instructions. This preparation will help maximize the valuable time that you spend with your doctor.
Doctor’s Helper: Your doctor wants you to be in the best health possible. Your doctor wants you to heal. Your doctor wants you to manage your health in the best possible way. Your doctor wants you to take care of your health. As with all people, your doctor is always learning something new. So, if you find some reliable research regarding your condition, share it with your doctor. By doing this, you may enlighten your doctor to something new which may change the direction of your care or your doctor will have any opportunity to enlightening you with additional information. Either way, you are helping your doctor because you are taking an active role in your health & building a better doctor-patient relationship.
Know Yourself: Your doctor spends time ordering, reviewing & documenting everything about you in your medical record. Take some time to log into your patient portal & read your medical record. Get more familiar with your health & wellness. Even if you don’t understand everything that is written, you will be in a better place to ask questions and to learn how to better manage your health &/or heal. Your health is counting on you to take an active role. Get to know yourself better and read your chart.
Insurance Assurance: Don’t wait until you are sick to figure out your insurance coverage. Ask yourself: 1) What is covered & what is not covered? (e.g., specialists, organizations, hospitals, ambulances), 2) Out-pocket expenses (e.g. deductibles, co-pays), 3) Who’s in-network & out-of-network?, 4) Are you aging out of your parent’s plan?, 5) Are you aging into Medicare?, 6) What’s you projected annual healthcare expenses based on current healthcare needs, 7) How much savings is set aside to cover insurance & projected expenses and 8) Do you have proactive healthcare benefits? (e.g. gym membership, health education). Knowing all of this while you are healthy enough to figure it out will save you a lot grief, stress & money. The better you know your insurance coverage & options the more control you will have to address healthcare needs.
Doctor Internet: Beware. When you search for diagnoses, diagnostics, treatment, interventions & management, you will find a wealth of information. Depending how you search will lead you to current best practices or to wrong & misleading information. As you search health topics, share any concerns or questions with your doctor. Ask for reliable information sources to help you to better understand your health & healing. And, be mindful that there is a difference between managing an illness and healing. Learn about both to help you maximize your healing potential. And be aware, as the right & wrong information are just be a few clicks away.