10 friendly tips in consulting your GP
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In most developed countries like Australia, General Practitioner (GP) is the first contact for every individual facing with health problems. In Malaysia however, a person can choose to see a medical officer in government health centres or a GP in private clinics. Just like in everything we do in life, there are some tips that a consumer can adopt to get the best out of their visit to a GP. Here are some of the tips that the author has accumulated throughout the many years interacting with his patients.
Wear appropriate clothing
Physical examination is a very important part of the consultation. A doctor needs to have an easy and quick access to certain parts of your body to establish the diagnosis (diagnosis – your medical condition). The most common examination that needs to be done is the blood pressure (BP) measurement and the doctor needs to have an access to your entire upper arm for this. Obviously, thick long-sleeved clothing will make this examination extra difficult or time consuming both for you and the doctor. Similarly, if your health problems needs you to be examined at certain part of your body, wear a type of clothing which can provide easy access to the body part without exposing too much of other unnecessary areas. Obviously elaborate gears which needed you to spend another fifteen minutes just to ‘undress’ is not making your visit a pleasant or fruitful ones. Remember, a great doctor is always in high demand for time.
Describe the illness, not the ‘diagnosis’
Try to describe what you feel or observe in your body in very precise terms without blurting out what you think it is. For example, if you have headache, just say it as headache and not to conclude the diagnosis as Migraine. Let the doctor explore your headache and establish whether it is Migraine or something else. Another example is if you have tummy pain; don’t say it to your doctor you are having gastroenteritis or ‘gastric’ straight away. Let the doctor decide on the diagnosis.
Invite along only the relevant persons
Consultation is much more fruitful if your doctor is not distracted by the screaming kids behind you or those relatives who seem to be answering on your behalf. Unless you need a translator or someone who has the ability to explain your medical problems better than you do, doctor always prefer a discreet consultation with you alone.
Bring along all your current medications
If possible, bring all your current medications. These include the prescription medications and other supplements or traditional medication which you are taking on regular basis. If it is too cumbersome to bring them, you can list them down, including the dosage and frequency of your medications. You can even keep a neat record including pictures of them stored in your smartphone for you to show to your doctor. Knowing your current medication will help the doctor to give appropriate medicines as well as to advise on the current medicines that you are taking. Too often patients go in such a great length in describing the colour, shape or smell of their medicines to the doctor, which may means nothing at all due to huge variety of drugs out there.
Source: www.swhealthcaresystem.com
Bring along all your medical records
If you have in your possession a file or documents of your health problems, bring it along in your visit to the doctor. This obviously will save you a lot in explaining and to avoid miscommunications. You can ask the doctor to copy the relevant information so that in the next visit you may not need to bring them all over again. Again, using Smartphone to record or capture document images to assist you in this manner will make your visit a more interesting one.
Show interest in your illness
Your doctor will find it more satisfying in managing your health problems when you show an interest in your health. Ask the doctor all relevant questions or tell him what you know about your condition and invite him to validate your knowledge. Only a not so good doctor will feel threatened by your curiosity. The good ones will find it fascinating and even spur them to take you seriously in managing your case. If you are only interested in quick remedy or in getting your sick leave, the doctor may give you just exactly that, a quick remedy without permanent solution.
Avoid seeing a doctor at odd hours, if possible
Unless in an emergency, avoid seeing your doctor at the most inconvenient time. Some clinics are open 24 hours, however you need to appreciate that your doctor is a human being too. During lunch time your doctor is or will get hungry. Even though he may see you with a smile, his hunger will definitely reduce his concentration and most likely you will not get the best out of the visit. Similarly, to see a doctor at two o’clock in the morning for your mild little finger discomfort or for that nagging headache which has been there for the past one year may not be the best thing for you to do.
Expect a great doctor to be busy and time-constrained
Every patient wants to see a great doctor who is able to spend hours in managing their health problems. Unfortunately, great doctors are always in demand and consequently will always have long list of patients waiting to see them. Accommodate this fact into your visit and make the best out of the shortest time in consulting that great doctor of you. Taking so much of his/her time when you can see patients are lining up at the door is not only being inconsiderate to others but will also agitate your doctor.
Comply to all advice, but do ask if in doubt
Always comply with all medical advice by your doctor. However, blind compliance is not always a good practice. Do ask question when the instruction seems odd to you. As mentioned before, showing an interest in your illness will spark the equal fascination of the doctor in managing your case.
Stick to one doctor (only applies in private clinics)
Keep changing your doctor will not help you in the long run. You will end up having no one who truly knows about your illness. Please refer to my other article about the adverse effects of doctor shopping at https://www.mmgazette.com/doctor-shopping-in-a-general-practitioner-setting-dr-rizin-h-kusop/
This article was written by the Malaysian Medical Gazette’s permanent columnist Dr. Rizin H Kusop who is currently the proprietor and MO in charge of a group practice franchise in Sabah who has a special interest in Anti-aging, Regenerative and Aesthetics medicine. Find out more about him at The Team page.
[This article belongs to The Malaysian Medical Gazette. Any republication (online or offline) without written permission from The Malaysian Medical Gazette is prohibited.]