Getting Ready to Meet Your New Doctor

You just found a doctor with two good traits; first, they had an open appointment for a new patient, and second, the office sounded like they knew what you are talking about. So, you are now headed off to meet your new doctor for the first time. The first visit with a doctor is always important. This is when you get to know your doctor. You can get a feel for the doctor and see if you are compatible with each other. During the office visit, the doctor will go over your history and the reason you made the appointment.

Now, there are a few things you should expect to get at your first office visit to the doctor. The routine examination which gives a view of your overall health. A blood workup. A quick visit by the nursing staff to see if you are comfortable while at the office. You could be checked for weight and height; this is especially true if you are younger than 21 and older than 50. Then the interview by the doctor to see why you made the appointment.

While the interview by the doctor is last on the list, it is by far the most important item during the visit to the doctors office. The reason? This is when both the doctor and the patient should be interviewing each other. Yes, you need to interview the doctor so you can gauge the ability of your new doctor. Even small trivial concerns should be addressed during this first office visit. This way, everyone involved knows about all of the issues and concerns from both the doctor and the patient.

Here are a few things you can use to help get ready for your first visit to the doctor.

Be Ready to Ask Questions and Get Answers

First,write down all of the symptoms which you are concerned about. If the doctor doesn't know what's wrong, and you forget, he can't help you. Write down questions which you want answers to concerning health issues. Again, if the doctor doesn't know there is a question, how is she supposed to give you an answer. Be willing to ask for clarifications. When the doctor talks about a treatment, or uses a medical term, you are not familiar with, it is your job to ask him to explain the topic to you.

Have Your Medical Records

Give the doctor all of the information she needs to properly diagnose your problems. Tell the doctor about your medications both current and past, when you stopped taking them and why. A family health history is also important. Gather up any medical files you have. These will be a great help to your new doctor in knowing what has happened in the past and what was done about it. Most common law allow you to have copies of these records, and these should be available if a doctor needs to use them as reference.

Have the Insurance and ID Information

Bring along all the information the office staff will need. This includes insurance papers, identification forms, and payment methods. This will help speed the paperwork, lessen the potential of billing or medical mix ups, and make record keeping easier.

Bring a Friend

Find someone to go with you. A trusted friend or relative will do well here. Going to see a new doctor for the first time is stressful. Having a friendly face nearby can ease the situation and make the visit comfortable and positive for everyone.

The first time you and the doctor meet, you will be assessing each other. This is not an easy task. You need to know as much about them as they do about you. Properly addressing health issues requires everyone to know everything about the problem. You should work with your doctor as a team. In this way both the doctor and you can handle any questions or issues which come up. With the first doctor visit you provide as much comprehensive information as you can to the team members. This way the team can operate as effective and efficiently as possible.