“I’ve been hearing
about this medicine,
do you think it would
work for me?”
1
Go online
Yes, you read that right!
Ever had a doctor tell you to stay off the internet? That’s
outdated advice, says Mark Heyman, type 1, director of the
Center for Diabetes and Mental Health in San Diego. There’s a
wealth of good information if you know where to look, he says,
and reading up can help you to pose the right questions to your
doctor. “We’ve always known doctors have valuable information
to share,” says deBronkart. “What’s new is that good information
is also available through other channels, and it’s possible today to
find valid scientific information that your doctor didn’t mention
or doesn’t yet know about.” In general, avoid viral news stories
you see on social media and stick with websites of major
academic medical institutions, government health departments,
and large health associations. Online patient forums can be
a gold mine, too, says deBronkart, as long as you remember
that what works for one person may not work for everyone.
Forum members offer emotional support, swap the latest news
stories and studies, and share valuable real-word experiences.
(See page 103 for help building your support network.)Tell your doctor
what you learnWhen you find information online
or through your peer network, don’t
keep it to yourself – share it with
your healthcare team. “Sometimes
patients expect doctors to know
everything. But how can they?”
asks deBronkart. “Consider that
the average family doctor treats
thousands of conditions, and more
than 2000 new medical journal
articles are published every day.”
When bringing info to your doctor,
be respectful and honest, and ask
for input. “Say, ‘I found this – what
do you think?’” deBronkart suggests.
Keeping a copy of your medical
records and sharing things in your
medical history your doctor might
not know about is also important,
says Danny Sands, co-founder of the
Society for Participatory Medicine.
“Patients who view their health
records online or track their own data
and share it with their physicians
may be able to avoid errors, such as
drug interactions or allergies, missed
screenings and duplicate testing- as in, ‘Actually, doctor, I just had
that test done a few months ago at
another facility,’” he says.