You're hustled through the system, and you don't really know the doctor that well. But this is, after all, your health care and you need to plan it. Identify what's really bothering you. Bring the material with you, read it, and show it to the doctor. Finally, bring a pad and pencil.
Patients tend to remember no more than half of what's said in the office.
Now you're ready for your 15 minutes of fame. Being organized and focused increases the chances the doctor will listen to you and hear what's important. Immediately, she and the patient are back to Square 1. It's the active, assertive, focused patients who have better health outcomes, Kaplan and her colleague and husband, physician Sheldon Greenfield, have found in studies of diabetes and arthritis patients. One reason is they are more likely to stick with a treatment plan.