How to make sure the doctor actually hears you

Appointments are short, and the thing you came about often comes out last, in the doorway, when the doctor is already standing. The fix is not being more assertive. It is arriving with three sentences written down.

The timeline, in one paragraph

When it started, what changed, and what you have already tried. Not the whole history. A doctor can ask for more; they cannot un-hear a ten minute story that used the whole appointment.

Name the worry in the first minute

If you are frightened it is something serious, say so at the start. 'I am worried this is my heart' changes how the next ten minutes are spent. Doctors triage on risk, and they cannot triage a worry you have not named.

• When it started, and what changed.
• The one symptom that worries you most.
• What you have tried, including anything you stopped and why.
• The question you want answered today.
• Anything that would make it hard to follow the plan (cost, transport, memory).

Bring the list of what you take

Every medicine, including things you buy without a prescription and anything herbal. A photo of the boxes is faster than trying to remember names. Interactions are the most common avoidable problem, and the list is the only defence.

Repeat the plan back

Before you leave, say the plan in your own words: so I take this for ten days, and if the pain is still there on Friday I call back. If you cannot say it, you have not understood it, and it is much easier to fix now than on the phone next week.

Take a second pair of ears

If you tend to say you are fine, take someone who will say the true thing. They can also write down what you miss, which is most of it, because people forget up to half of what is said in a consultation and remember the least pleasant part best.