Put these notes together
Describe the problem in your own words.
Note when you first noticed it, what has changed and how it affects daily life. Bring any earlier test results you already have.
List what you take and your allergies.
Include prescribed medicines, other medicines and supplements. Copy the names from their labels if spelling is difficult.
Bring the offer you are comparing.
Save the medicine name, the stated price and what the service says is included. Ask the clinician to explain the offer.
Choose the questions that matter most.
What are the other options? What evidence fits my health concern? What would make you choose a different plan?
Ask how later questions will be handled.
Write down the follow-up process, who reviews test results and whom to ask about medicine instructions.
If the visit needs more information
Ask which question a suggested test would help answer.
A national group of state offices overseeing doctors advises clinicians to arrange the tests a patient needs or refer them to someone able to arrange those tests.
This is advice states can use when setting care rules. It is not a law or a list of tests everyone needs.
Ask where the test happens, who reads it and whether its price is separate from the visit.
Ask for an explanation you can repeat
Try saying the plan back in plain words. Point out anything you still cannot explain.
Ask for the medicine name and the reason for it in writing. Ask what happens next if the clinician recommends another approach.
You can take time to think about the answers before agreeing to a plan.
A question to take along
What do you still need to know about me before making this decision?