You may not have needed more than a yearly routine checkup when you were younger, but with age, bodies change, and sometimes they require more careful attention. You may notice an oddly shaped pimple worthy of a visit to the dermatologist or notice new back pain that could benefit from physical therapy.
A call to schedule your next doctor’s appointment is step 1. But there are many other things to keep in mind to make the most of medical checkups and understand how to navigate more complex conditions down the line.
Know Your Rights — and Yourself
You might find that visits to your doctor tend to go by in a whirlwind. There are forms to fill out, prescriptions to remember, and medical lingo thrown at you as your doctor explains next steps.
It can feel overwhelming. But seeking health care doesn’t mean you have to take the backseat. Before you enter the medical office, don’t forget your rights as a patient. Those include:
- The right to be treated with respect and without discrimination
- The right to clear information about diagnosis and treatment options
- The right to appropriate medical care in a timely manner, including any necessary services, exams, and treatments
- The right to make an informed choice about whether you want to move forward with a medical treatment recommended by your doctor
- The right to privacy with respect to your medical information
Also think about what you value in life and related to health care. Reflecting before an appointment can help you understand whether different treatment options may or may not align with your lifestyle and personal needs.
“As we age, we have different issues that come up with our bodies,” says social media influencer Sherry Grossi. “You have to be well informed,” says Grossi, 81, who engages with her followers on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok under the moniker “#80andfabulous.”
Make yourself a priority, says Veronica Irvin, PhD, MPH, the Celia Strickland Austin and G. Kenneth Austin III Endowed Professor in Public Health at Oregon State University.
“We actually start with telling people to make sure to make time for themselves,” Irvin says.
“People tend to advocate more for other people, or they put other deadlines before their own health.”
Ask Away
Doctors have years of training and often specialty expertise. But the only lifelong expert on your body is you. Health care is a collaboration between trained medical doctors and you, the patient.
Before a medical appointment, think about any symptoms you may want to bring up or medical concerns you’ve noticed lately. Write them down so you don’t forget when it comes time for the appointment. If you want, you can also log symptoms and other health notes in a journal or via an app to keep track of patterns over time.
Consider questions you may want to ask during the appointment. Doctors are very busy, so it’s essential to prepare beforehand. You can even ask a friend or family member to help you brainstorm, Irvin says.
Consider asking about:
- Information about a symptom, medical condition or new diagnosis
- Details about a treatment plan or medication, including possible side effects
- Next steps and additional medical appointments you may need
- Patient support resources available to you
During the appointment, don’t be afraid to ask why your doctor recommends a certain treatment and what the evidence is to support it. You can also ask about other factors, like the cost of certain treatment options or how it might affect your lifestyle. There also may be other treatment options available to you if you inquire.
“We know our bodies best,” says Amanda Krisher, associate director of behavioral health at the National Council on Aging. “Speaking up is really, really critical.”
For serious diagnoses and chronic conditions, consider getting a second opinion. That means you consult another doctor to find out whether their diagnosis and treatment recommendations differ at all. This can help you understand how different doctors in the same specialty approach your condition as well as give you more choice in how to proceed.
Bring a Friend
Going to the doctor can feel intimidating, especially if you’re worried about a new symptom or diagnosis.
Ask a close friend or family member to accompany you to your appointment, if possible. Having someone you trust by your side can help ease anxiety. That person can also keep track of questions and details during the visit.
If you can’t bring someone with you, consider having a loved one on the phone to listen in.
“Someone could be on a phone call at the same time while you're talking to your physician,” Irvin says. “You can just have them on speaker, listening in and helping take notes and just, again, keep you organized.”
A companion may also provide emotional support to you in case you receive news that worries you during a medical appointment.
If you aren’t very tech savvy, you could even grant a trusted friend access to your online health care portals, Krisher says. That way someone else can help you access important online medical records, test results, and appointment scheduling systems when needed.
Some people also choose to designate a trusted friend or family member as a health care proxy. That person would be legally authorized to make medical decisions for you, so it should be someone who understands your values related to medical treatment.
Repeat After Me
Doctor’s appointments can be a firehose of information. It’s easy to miss a detail or misunderstand something. To make sure you’re clear on what the doctor tells you, try summarizing the main points back to your doctor.
If there’s something you heard wrong, repeating it back gives your doctor a chance to correct you, Krisher says. You can also ask your doctor to rephrase what they said for clarity.
Sometimes you might not realize you didn’t understand a doctor’s instruction or explanation until after you leave the appointment.
If you think of new questions to ask your doctor, write them down. Then, call your doctor to go over them or send a message in your online health care portal. If it is not urgent, you can also wait to ask during your next doctor’s visit.
Money Matters
A new diagnosis can cause worry and fear about health care costs.
You deserve to know how much you will need to pay for tests and treatments you are prescribed. To learn more about your expected costs, check with your health insurance provider. They should be able to give you a document explaining what your insurance covers and how much different types of care cost.
You can usually also search your health insurance website to find in-network doctors and medical clinics.
If money is tight, ask your doctor or health insurer about financial assistance options. You may also be eligible for a payment plan to help reduce the immediate cost to you of expensive medical procedures and treatments.
Health in Your Own Hands
Getting the lowdown on your health and well-being doesn’t stop once you walk out of the doctor’s office. Before any medical appointment, collect information about your health insurance, medical records, medications and other doctors you see. This will help all of your doctors stay on the same page and ensure you aren’t prescribed medications from different doctors that might not mix well, Krisher says.
You might want to print out any important documents so you have easy access during the appointment. You can also ask for a printout of documents from a doctor’s appointment while you’re at the medical office, Krisher says.
Before a medical procedure, find out if there are any special instructions to help you prepare. But beware of your sources. Artificial intelligence may be easy to access, but Irvin says it’s best to avoid using AI tools like ChatGPT for medical questions.
“It might sound correct, but actually, the reference that they're giving could be fictitious, could be made up,” Irvin says.
Remember, your doctor’s goal is to help you live a healthy life. At the end of the day, you get to decide what you do with the information your doctor presents you with.
“It's my life. It's my body. It's my quality of life,” Grossi says. “I'm going to do what I have to do.”
