9 Questions to Ask Your Doctor for Better Medical Decision Making

1. 9Questions to Ask Your Doctor for Better Medical Decision Making Providers can consider medical transcription services to save time to spend with their patients. Here are 9 questions for patients to ask their doctors. Medical Transcription Service Company United States

2. Proper communication is the key to any successful business and in the healthcare sector also, transparent communication between the doctor and patient is essential to ensure quality care and good health outcomes. Treating patients with respect helps them to communicate well and engage with them even outside of the hospital settings. A doctor should be a good listener too. Today, with the EHR becoming mandatory, physicians are balancing their documentation work and patient care with the support of reliable medical transcription services. Entrusting the documentation part to an expert transcription service frees up time for physicians to communicate with their patients and make better medical decisions. Shared medical decision making is very important. It means making sure that both the doctor and the patient understand the healthcare choices so that the values are understood and respected. Many patients often just obey their doctor’s orders blindly, but the doctor’s advice and orders should be based on open discussion with the patients and all the treatments and tests should be carried out after the visit. Doctors always want to ensure that the patients leave their clinic or hospital confident in their treatment and follow-up plan. Patients may feel nervous about asking questions to the doctor or even talking about their needs and treatment objectives. However, it is important that patients open up to their care providers because it would make it easier for the doctor to recommend treatments that are more along the lines of the patient’s values. Then, the patient and doctor can make decisions together regarding the right treatment to choose to reach their goals. So, here are some questions patients can ask their doctors. • How will I benefit from the treatment, test or medicine? Here the doctor can recommend the treatment, how it will help the patients and why it is good for them. • What are the risks or the side effects involved? All treatments, test and medicines may have their own side effects and the doctor can brief the patients about the side effects, the risk and what to expect. • Whether there are simpler, safer treatment options available: The patient should be informed of all the choices available to determine the right one for him/her. • Can the test/treatment be done at a later time? Certain tests and treatments can wait, and the patient should be given clarity regarding this. • Should I get a second opinion? Since doctors differ in their area of expertise, his/her insights into a patient’s symptoms may differ from another doctor’s. Typically, primary care physicians direct their patients to the right specialist. A www.medicaltranscriptionservicecompany.com 918-221-7809

3. second opinion is valuable especially if the patient is considering surgery or drugs known to have heavy side effects. • What does a positive or negative result mean? Patients must be educated regarding the medical implications of a positive or negative test result. • Can I talk with other patients who have undergone the same treatment? This will help understand the results to expect. • Is there anything I can do on my own to improve my health condition? The doctor can advise the patient regarding the right lifestyle choices to follow. Studies show that things such as what you eat, whether you smoke, and how much you sleep and exercise are responsible for seventy percent of your risk for illness and disease. These are important from the point of view of recovery as well. • Do you accept my health insurance and will it cover the treatment costs? Given the importance of clear communication between providers and patients during healthcare delivery, providers could consider having their EHR documentation entrusted with a medical transcription company. HL7 interface provides an encrypted and secure means of sharing files that assure the safety of medical records. When patients are well-informed and confident that their providers understand their concerns and preferences, they are more likely to follow all the doctor’s recommendations. This will in turn ensure better patient and provider satisfaction as well as better treatment outcomes. www.medicaltranscriptionservicecompany.com 918-221-7809