Getting The Best Medical Care

July 6, 2012

Interview with Patrick Malone, author of the book The Life You Save: Nine Steps to Finding the Best Medical Care-and Avoiding the Worst

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Mike Carruthers:
During a typical doctor visit you don't get a lot of time to discuss the details, so a little preparation can help...

Patrick Malone:
Write down what is bothering you: "Why am I going to see this doctor, what are the top three or four things on my mind?"
 

Patrick Malone, author of the book The Life You Save, says when you give that list to your doctor you have a better chance of discussing all of your concerns.

They can read a lot faster than you can ever recite to them. And then they can have targeted follow-up questions to figure out what the diagnosis is.

If something is bothering you and your doctor says it's nothing but you know it is, Patrick suggests you ask this question…

"What else could it be?" Then that helps prod them into getting out of their frame of mind, which is that everything is normal, and there's nothing to worry about.

If you need a specialist you want the best and if it's serious you want a second opinion. So at the first visit with the specialist Patrick recommends…

Say to the specialist, "If this was a member of your own family that needed this treatment who would you recommend?" Another way of saying the same thing is, "Who has even more expertise and experience in this kind of condition?" And that way you kind of gently are trading yourself up to a higher and higher level of experience and skill.