Table of Contents
The PACE
System
Presenting
Detailed information
Guidelines for Reporting New or Changed Symptoms
Tips About
Medications
Medication
Record Form
Stating What
You Expect
Asking
Questions
Sample Questions About Diagnosis and Prognosis
Sample
Questions About Tests or Procedures
Sample
Questions About
Medications
Sample
Questions About Other Treatments
A List of All
Sample Questions
Checking
Your Understanding of Information
Expressing
Concerns
Summary
Tips
About Making Appointments
Tips
About Medical Records
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The PACE System
People often complain about
doctors' poor communication. While many doctors could stand
to improve their communication, there are good reasons why
patients also should be effective communicators:
- Doctors' appointments
are usually limited to about 15 minutes, so it's
important for patients to be prepared and
organized.
- The doctor's ability to
determine what is wrong and how to treat it depends
almost entirely on the communication between the doctor
and patient.
- Science has provided
many wonderful medications and tests, but the doctor's
decision to order a test or prescribe a medication most
often depends on what information is provided by the
patient.
In general, effective
patient communication involves:
Presenting
detailed information about how you are
feeling.
Asking
questions if desired information is not
provided.
Checking
your understanding of information that is given
to you.
Expressing
any concerns about the recommended
treatment.
These four communication
skills make up the PACE
system for communicating with you doctor. You can get the
most out of this web site if you take notes as you work
through the pages. There will be points where you will want
to write down information to tell your doctor. A
PACE
Guide Sheet will aid you
in taking notes, which you can then bring with you to your
doctor's appointment. Please click here
for a copy of the Guide
Sheet.
You will need Acrobat Reader
to access the Guide
Sheet. If you do not
have it installed on you computer click
for a FREE copy.
Continue
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