1. Be Clear Right Off the Bat
When your doctor asks, "What brings you here today?" it's your opportunity to outline your expectations. For example, you might say, "I have four questions for you, and I'd like to leave this office with a diagnosis and a plan for how I'll get better."
2. Don't Let Notes Get in the Way
Come armed with a list of everything you want the doctor to know, Rackner advises. However, "It's better to tell an open-ended story and then look at your list to make sure you've covered everything," says Dr. Jerome Groopman, a Harvard Medical School professor and author of How Doctors Think (Mariner Books, 2008).
3. Come Prepared
Thinking beforehand about what the doctor will want to know can help you communicate effectively. Be ready to relate your symptoms, when they began, what brings them on, what makes them worse and what makes them better. Also, be able to tell the doctor your own health history—however short or long—your family health history and what medications you take.
4. Take Someone With You
"If you're in a lot of pain, if you're on medicine that might blur your thinking or if you're terribly frightened, it helps to have another person with you. Sometimes you're just so scared you do not hear what the doctor is saying," Groopman says. A companion can help you explain how you feel. He or she also can take notes for you, letting you simply listen to your doctor.
5. Tell Your Story
On average, doctors interrupt a patient within 18 seconds of the patient beginning to speak, according to Groopman. Also, doctors tend to seize the first bit of information you share, when the real clue to your diagnosis might come later in your conversation. So tell your doctor, "I want to make sure I'm able to tell you my whole story and everything that's bothering me."
6. Don't Diagnose Yourself
If you walk into your doctor's office and announce, "I think I have hyperthyroidism," it may slant your doctor's opinion, says Laura Noon, a registered nurse with Dial-A-Nurse for St. Vincent's Health System in Birmingham, Alabama. Instead, describe your symptoms in detail and let your doctor present possible diagnoses. Then, if your doctor's opinion seems off, offer your own.
7. Say It Loud, Say It Proud
Rackner says many patients are reluctant to talk with their doctors about things they deem embarrassing—whether that's a physical issue or asking about the cost of certain tests. "But doctors have heard it all before," she says. "If anything, the doctor is going to think more of you for overcoming your embarrassment and really trying to find a solution."
8. Don't Leave Until...
You understand and have written down your diagnosis and any instructions from the doctor: what lab tests are needed and how you need to prepare for them; when you should call after hours or even call 911; when you should see improvements; whom you can talk to if you have questions between appointments; and when your next appointment will be. If you don't understand something, ask questions until you do.
9. Follow Up
If you think of a question or two once you're home, call your doctor's office and ask to speak to his or her nurse, says Noon. "The nurse will take your information and pass it on to the physician," she says. Keep in mind that you may need to leave a message for the nurse. Doing so allows him or her time to pull up your file and answer your questions knowledgeably.
10. Fill in Your Team
Make sure every member of your health care team—for example, your physician, pharmacist, physical therapist and psychiatrist—is in the loop on any new diagnosis. "Each of them is there because they have an important contribution to make," says Rackner. Adds Noon, "The physician is the coordinator of your care."
Linda Formichelli's work has appeared in USA Weekend, Family Circle, Woman's Day and Fitness magazines.
Be sure to find out if your insurance will cover the cost, and then get your current doctor in the loop. Chances are he or she will welcome your initiative and may consult with your second-opinion doctor.