How To Advocate For Yourself With Your Care Team
BEFORE APPOINTMENT
The first thing you can do to make sure you’re getting the most out of your care team is to use the “Customer Mindset”
Rather than seeing yourself as “along for the ride” with your care team as the drivers on your healthcare journey, try to see yourself as the Customer who gets to make the decisions about your care. You make the payments for your care and have hired them to do a job for you, so you should be able to ask whatever questions you have, be satisfied with your care, express your dismay if you’re not satisfied, and look into other providers and clinics if you don’t see changes or improvements in your team’s services after talking with them about your dissatisfaction.
Get the full benefits of your care team by doing your own research
Gather plenty of data and information about the concern, pain, or illness you might be experiencing. Be sure your information is coming from reputable sources, like licensed providers and trustworthy organizations. If consuming information from other patients, remember to balance others’ reports with the possibility that your experience may be different. Also, be cautious and on alert for misinformation about the concern, pain, or illness you may be researching.
Based on the research you do, prepare a list of questions to bring in to your appointment with your provider so you can get the data you need to feel informed and empowered!
Explore different docs
Find the best fit for you. Different clinicians and clinics have different approaches and styles in their care, which means you will need to do your own investigative work to find the one that aligns most with what you feel you need. So much of a treatment working comes down to how much you trust in your care team; find the doctor that you feel you connect with and can trust to do their job for you.
Don’t be afraid to explore doctors outside the clinic or healthcare system you’re currently seeking services at. If you’re receiving care at Healthcare System A but know that Healthcare System B has a provider who is renowned in their field, meet with them and see if they can work for you!
Track your pain and/or symptoms
Keep a “pain diary” or a log of your symptoms (lack of sleep, lack of appetite, depressed mood, panic attacks, stiffness, muscle tension, etc.) with information including how long pain/symptoms last, how intense the pain or symptoms are, what type of impairment in functioning the pain or symptoms cause, and what things contribute or relieve the pain or symptoms. This will help you build more self-awareness as well as provide more data for your care team to figure out how best to support you.
Coordinate your care
Make sure you have the information you need from other providers as you prepare for your appointments. Similarly, be sure, both before and after your appointments, to urge your care team to coordinate among themselves to ensure they are all working together for you!
Now for the un-fun one….get familiar with your health insurance plan
Be sure to know what healthcare systems, hospitals, clinics, and providers are covered by your plan, how much your plan will cover, and what you’ll be responsible for. The more work you do before the appointment to ascertain that information, the less stress, confusion, surprise, frustration, and potentially financial strain you’ll have to deal with later! Learning about your insurance plan doesn’t sound like the most fun way to spend an afternoon, but it will help you feel more confident and empowered in the decisions you’re making about your care.
Gather past records and a list of your medications
Ask for accommodations or interpretative services if needed
Prepare transportation and childcare if needed
DURING APPOINTMENT
Discuss with your provider what their and your goals are for the appointment
Figure out what each of you have for agenda items during the appointment and how much time you need to allot for each item to maximize efficiency and ensure you walk out feeling informed.
Bring your questions
Prioritize your list of questions to ask before the appointment, so you know which questions are the ones that need answers, which ones you would like answers on, and which ones can be asked if there’s time left over
Activate your social support
Bring a family member or friend who can support you during the appointment. If the appointment is a difficult one or you worry you may experience distress during it, a helpful tactic to use can be to have your support person ask the questions and you just talk with the provider.
Ask to record the appointment
This way, you can focus on having a conversation with the provider, but you have a record that you can go back to later to remind yourself of the information the provider gave or what the next steps in your care might be.
Take notes
…Or have your support person take notes. Gather as much data and information as you can to feel the most knowledgeable and educated about your concern, pain, or illness. Similar to a recording, your notes may act as a reminder after the session is over of what steps you need to take next.
Ask for explanations
Sometimes providers can get stuck in their “medical brain” or “healthcare brain” and use terminology that is confusing, technical, or clinical. Ask your provider to use language that you understand and are comfortable with. Providers should be able to provide explanations in everyday language of whatever they might be recommending.
AFTER APPOINTMENT
Ask more questions!
Don’t be afraid to ask for clarifications about any confusion you had during your appointment.
If you forget to ask something while you’re with your provider, connect with your care team through your electronic health records (EHR) system like MyChart.
Ensure you have clear directions on the next steps you need to take, including what other specialists you might want to connect with, what medications to begin, what exercises or interventions to engage in, what procedures to schedule, etc.
Practice your assertiveness
If you feel your appointment with your provider didn’t go as you had hoped, if you want to explore other options for your care, or you feel more lost, confused, or disconnected after your appointment, try expressing your concerns to your care team to see if they can adjust their style to help you feel more comfortable and meet your needs. Remember, assertiveness helps you to feel more empowered, informed, and competent.
And if that doesn’t work, explore more docs!
Don’t be afraid to get other opinions! Contact your insurance company for referrals for other providers.
Join a support group
Build a community of support around yourself filled with folks who are experiencing similar concerns, pain, or illnesses as you. We all need support, connection, and validation to grow and push through hard things.
Keep in mind, you are paying for the service and can expect to be treated with respect, compassion, support, and information! The care team works for you, you don’t work for them! These tactics are just a few of the ways to help you get what you need from your appointments and your care team. If you would like to talk about other strategies, reach out to CPGR to schedule an appointment!
