What to Tell your Doctor: Sharing your Health Story
When visiting a doctor, every minute counts in ensuring you leave the appointment satisfied. With the average length of a primary care appointment lasting just 18 minutes – and the average length of a specialist appointment lasting only a bit longer – as a patient you have limited time to share your story with your doctor, and what and how you tell that story can make a difference in your care.
So what can you do ahead of your appointment to make the most of those 18 minutes? With our tips below, you’ll be more than prepared when the doctor asks you, “what brings you in today?”
Tip #1 – Know your Top Concern
When you start telling a doctor your health story, you’ll want to begin with what is bothering you right now, before you get to what got you to today. That means having a very clear answer for what is your chief concern. Often our chief concern is symptom-based, though it could also be related to diagnostic or treatment-related challenges.
When thinking about your chief concern, you might want to ask yourself, “Is there one symptom you’d say is ‘the worst?’”
Once you’ve identified that symptom, come to your appointment prepared to share the following information with your doctor:
When and how did it begin?
Where is it located?
Is it steady or does it come and go?
What factors make things better or worse? Are there medications, behaviors (exercise, travel, eating), or emotional states (stress, sadness, happiness) that change your symptoms?
How does it impact with your life, job, or personal relationships?
Are there associated symptoms – for example, diarrhea, headache, or blurred vision?
What formal diagnosis, if any, have you already received for this?
What treatments, if any, have you undergone?
Tip #2 – Highlight the Key Milestones in your Care Journey
Once you’ve shared with your doctor your chief concern, it’s time to fill in the details for them on your relevant health history. In every care journey there are historically significant events that changed the trajectory of your story. Those may include:
Your very first symptoms, including how you felt, where you were, how you reacted, etc.
When and where you received any diagnoses, and any test results or other diagnostic tests that led to those diagnoses
When, where, and why any hospitalizations occurred and what happened afterwards
Any treatments you have tried – including medications, procedures, surgeries, or non-pharmaceutical treatments – and if they helped or were discontinued
Any major flares or remissions of your symptoms – when did they happen and are you aware of any medical or lifestyle triggers
When sharing your health story, the important thing you want to get across to your doctor is how your illness has progressed over time. Sometimes it can be helpful to jot down a quick timeline of these events prior to your appointment so that it’s easier to stay on track when sharing your story during the appointment.
Tip #3 – Don’t Forget to Present the Whole Person
Maybe you’ve been under a period of intense stress with a recent move. Maybe you’ve become a caregiver to a sick spouse. Maybe you recently changed your diet. Maybe you were recently laid off. All of these events can give your doctor a fuller picture of your story that they can’t find in your medical records.
Even small life details can have a big effect on your health and could be valuable insights that can help your doctor get to the right diagnosis or treatment sooner.
Tip #4 – Keep it Concise
Without time on your side, it is imperative that you “don’t bury the lede” and instead get straight to the key information you are trying to share. It’s best to keep your health story around 3 minutes, and preparing a few bullet points ahead of time can not only help you stay on track, but ensure that information you are sharing is as complete as possible. Sometimes it’s helpful to practice with a friend, family member, or caregiver prior to the appointment.
How Chronius Can Help
If the tips above make you feel a bit overwhelmed to get ready for an appointment, you aren’t alone. That’s why at Chronius, our Care Guides build your health story for you. Through a combination of medical record review and a quick patient interview, our Care Guides build a health story that you can access with one click of a button – ensuring you and your doctor can communicate as effectively as possible in those quick 18 minutes.
Interested in learning more and signing up for our waitlist? Visit chroniushealth.com and claim your spot today.
