Prepping for doctor visit may help patients

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Going into a doctor's visit armed with a checklist, or even some pre-visit coaching, might help patients ask the right questions to get the information they need, a research review suggests.

Studies have shown that people often don't get all the information they want from their doctors. So researchers have looked at a number of ways to help them ask the right questions.

Among the strategies used have been making question "prompt sheets," watching videos and even participating in quick "coaching" sessions right before an appointment to help patients polish their question-asking skills.

In the new review, which evaluated 33 studies that focused on methods to help patients get the information they want, researchers found that some of these strategies are somewhat effective.

Coaching and prompt sheets produced similar results in helping patients ask more questions. Coaching improved patient satisfaction, but resulted in the shorter consultation period. Overall, the improvements were small, but statistically significant.

The findings appear in the Cochrane Library, which is published by the Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research.

While the studies' results weren't dramatic, they do support the usefulness of preparing for a doctor's visit, according to lead author Paul Kinnersley, co-director of the Communications Skills Unit at Cardiff University in the UK.

Your doctor's office may not have a coach in the waiting room to help you rehearse for your visit, Kinnersley told Reuters Health, But thinking about a doctor's appointment in advance and writing down any concerns may well help people get the information they want.

Bringing a family member to the appointment can also help, by having a second person there to not only ask questions, but to remember the doctor's answers.

"For sure patients should prepare themselves and take family members with them," Kinnersley said, noting that there is plenty of anecdotal evidence from patients that this works.

SOURCE: Cochrane Library, July 18, 2007 online.