Bring good questions
Bring questions that invite a clear answer
Start with the goal
- Which health problem is this care meant to address?
- What options are worth discussing?
- Which result would tell us that this is useful to me?
- How will we judge whether this plan is helping me?
Describe the change you hope for in your own words. Leave room for the clinician to ask more about it.
Write down what you want help with before writing down a treatment name. Bring the advert or product name if it started your search.
During the visit
Ask about the actual medicine
- What is the full product name?
- Does this product have approval, or is it a compounded preparation?
- What supports using this product for my problem?
- If it is compounded, what need is the change meant to meet?
- What are the possible harms?
- How do my medicines, allergies, health conditions, and pregnancy plans affect the discussion?
Ask how care will work
- Who is assessing me?
- What is their full name and licence type?
- Which state licence applies to this visit?
- What would require an in-person visit?
- If tests are proposed, what will they tell us?
- Which pharmacy prepares or supplies the medicine?
- How can I ask its pharmacist about the label or delivery?
Ask about the bill and the next conversation
- What is included in the normal bill?
- What is extra?
- What happens when an opening offer ends?
- What does my plan cover for this use?
- How does cancellation work?
- Who will explain the results and the plan?
- How can I obtain the visit record?
- Whom do I contact about a problem?
- What requires urgent help?
Leave with the answer in your own words
Try restating what you heard. Ask the clinician to correct anything you missed. Mark any question that is still open. It is reasonable to ask for a term to be explained again.
Keep your notes beside the plan and the product name. A short page of clear answers is easier to return to than a long list of terms.