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"__An Interview With Jerome Groopman__\\n\\n\\n\\n*Groopman is a physician, a professor at Harvard Medical School, and a staff writer at* The New Yorker *magazine. His latest book is* How Doctors Think *(Houghton Mifflin).*\\n\\nCommunicating with your doctor can be daunting\u2014especially if you have a medical problem that is lingering, complicated, or difficult to diagnose. But it's also profoundly important, since it's ultimately you who provides the information your doctor needs to find a solution. Here's how to help your physician help you.\\n\\n\\n\\n\u2022\u00A0 __ Tell a story.__ If you are going in for a general checkup, it's fine to write down a prioritized list of concerns you'd like to go over with the doctor. But when you're sick, don't prepackage the information you are going to present. Give the time frame for your illness, then start at the beginning and describe how it has evolved since. Dwelling on what your last internist said the problem was or how it seems to fit with something you read online just limits your doctor. An open-ended narrative can allow him or her to consider all the clues.\\n\\n\\n\\n\u2022\u00A0 __ Don't hold back.__ You should never be embarrassed to tell your doctor anything. Whether it has to do with your sex life, your mental state, or anything else society stigmatizes, it all falls within the confidential, intimate relationship that should exist between physician and patient. If you hesitate, you may end up holding back critical information. It's also important to get things off your chest; I recommend that people be up-front with their doctor about anything that is frightening them about the state of their health. Voicing your worst fears about an illness seems to be particularly helpful in getting a physician to take your concerns seriously and consider all possibilities.\\n\\n\\n\\n\u2022\u00A0 __ Ask the tough questions.__ Your physician is under a lot of pressure from insurance companies and policy people to stick to standard practice guidelines and use rigid diagnostic formulas. The problem is that different disorders can cause the same sets of symptoms. You can help your doctor by asking certain questions\u2014the kind that senior physicians ask medical students all the time. To me, the three most important ones are: \\\"What else could it be?\\\"; \\\"Is it possible I have more than one problem?\\\"; and \\\"Is there anything that doesn't fit with this diagnosis?\\\" Doctors tend to get wedded to their first impressions. If you ask them the questions they should be asking themselves, you might end up discovering that what's really wrong with you is something else entirely.\\n\\n\\n\\n\u2022\u00A0 __ Get some clarity.__ Whether its a diagnosis, a course of treatment, or results from a test, when processing new information it can be a good idea to repeat back what you are hearing to make sure you are getting it right. (For example, \\\"Let me make sure I understand what you are saying: I have an enlarged spleen, which could be due to an infection, or it could possibly be cancer. The next step is more tests.\\\") A neurologist friend once told me that there's nothing in medicine that is so complicated that it can't be clearly explained to a layman. Admit what you don't understand, and your doctor should clarify it\u2014there's no reason to walk out of an office still confused.\\n\\n\\n\\n\u2022\u00A0 __ Take your time.__ Over the years, the average length of an appointment for a new patient has been cut from an hour down to 30 minutes; follow-ups are only 15 minutes\u2014and there's pressure to get that down to 12\\\\. While it isn't a bad idea to ask the receptionist how long the doctor has for you (just so you know), don't let her answer rush or limit you. If at the end of your appointment you have unanswered questions, it's OK to say, \\\"What are your plans for following up? I still have issues I'd like to go over.\\\"\\n\\n#### See Also\\n\\n- [4 Ways to Working Through a Skin Emergency at Work](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2011/08/4-ways-to-working-through-a-skin-emergency-at-work.html)\\n\\n\\n- [Insiders' Guide: How to Break Up With Your Doctor](http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/health/2011/how-to-breakup-with-your-doctor)\\n\\n\\n- [Skin Magicians](http://www.allure.com/skin-care/2008/skin_magicians)"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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