How to get what you need at your next doctor’s appointment.
Ever left a doctor’s appointment feeling frustrated, dismissed, or completely confused? You’re not alone.
Nobody ever taught you what’s actually expected of you in a doctor’s appointment.
Add to that super-short appointments, overworked GPs, and systemic dismissal of marginalized folks’ health concerns, and it’s not uncommon to leave a doctor’s appointment feeling completely dejected.
There’s nothing I can do about the shockingly low allocation of resources to primary care in Ontario.
There’s also nothing I can do about the fact that some doctors hold biases that lead them to dismiss the concerns of women, LGBTQ2SIA+ people, people of colour, fat folks, disabled folks, and other marginalized people.
What I can do, as a naturopathic doctor who works with people who feel unseen, unheard, and unsupported in health and wellness settings, is teach you what you can do to get what you actually need out of your next doctor’s appointment.
I can’t guarantee that your relationship with your GP will be perfect if you read this blog - after all, more than half of that responsibility is your doctor’s - but I hope you’ll feel more confident going into your next appointment with my preparation.
What to prepare for a doctor’s appointment.
Before your appointment, think about the concern you want to focus on, the outcome you’d like to achieve, and the information your doctor will need to help you.
Prepare questions for your doctor
Write down any questions or concerns you have to talk about. This helps you remember everything you want to discuss and prioritize the most important issues.
Tell your provider what you’d like to talk about at the beginning of the appointment, and ask whether you’ll be able to address them all during the appointment. Your provider will be able to tell you what can and cannot be addressed during the allotted time of your visit.
Remember that a typical family doctor’s visit in Ontario is only 15 minutes long, which is usually only enough to address one or two concerns.
Think about what outcomes you’re looking for
It’s a good idea to establish a clear goal without being too specific.
Why is being too specific a problem? Well, if you go into an appointment thinking “I want a referral for an endoscopy, “ or “I want a prescription for a beta blocker, “ you might be disappointed.
Chronic illness communities and disability peer support are incredible resources that can help you navigate healthcare - but guidelines differ regionally, every patient is different, and the suggestions we get from peers don’t always align with the clinical guidelines your doctor is following.
Instead, think of broader outcomes that align more with how you want to feel, like “I want to try a new treatment option for my dizziness,” or “I want to know what’s causing my stomach pain.”
You can always come prepared with questions about specific options - if your doctor is open-minded, they’ll consider it if you ask - and they’ll be able to clarify if it isn’t the right choice for you.
Prepare answers to your doctor’s questions
You’ll get through things quicker, stay on track better, and get less overwhelmed if you prepare answers to likely questions ahead of time. Consider writing down or rehearsing yours answers.
For each concern you have, think about:
When it started.
How often it bothers you.
How much it bothers you, including examples of how it affects your life, especially work or school.
If the appointment is a follow-up on an issue you’ve discussed before, make sure to track your symptoms so you can give clear numbers on how things have changed. Compile these findings before your appointment.
For example, I track my headaches every month but I only see my neurologist once every three to six months. Before each appointment, I count up how many headaches I had each month, how often I took my medication, and how many times I had to take time off work because of a migraine attack, so I can easily report these details.
Also review your own “health history” before appointments. If you’re seeing a provider for the first time, you should be ready to share all of the information below. If the provider knows your health history already, you should be able to update them on any changes since you last saw them.
All medical conditions you have
Significant health conditions that have now resolved
All allergies - food, drug, and environmental
The medications you take, including over-the-counter meds and supplements
Any recreational substances you partake in, including the amount of alcohol you consume
Your family medical history - this is all of the health conditions your closest genetic relatives have, or major things they have had, like cancer.
How to advocate for yourself in a doctor’s appointment.
Doctors’ appointments can go by fast - here are some things you can do to make the most of them.
Stay focused and share relevant information
Focus on one concern at a time and prioritize the most important issues. This doesn’t mean that you should intentionally omit information about yourself - if your symptoms are impacting your mental health, if you’re under significant stress, or if your doctor asks about your relationships, substance use, or other personal topics, it’s important to share these details.
A lot of folks are justifiably worried that if they share details about their mental health, substance use, or identity, that their concerns will be dismissed or they’ll be told it’s “just stress”. I’m not going to lie and tell you that this won’t happen. If it doesn’t happen, your doctor now has information that helps them understand you better. If it does, you can use some of the strategic questions listed below to get things back on track.
Ask for clarification
If you don’t understand something, ask for an explanation. For example you could ask:
Can you explain why we’re testing this?
What exactly is [word they just said]?
Can you explain how [treatment option] works?
I didn’t get that - can you say it in another way?
Ask strategic questions
If you understand what your provider has said, but you feel like the goals that you had for the appointment haven’t been met, or there isn’t a satisfying plan to meet those goals, you can ask strategic questions to achieve that.
The goal of these questions is to get you both on the same page, so lead with curiosity. These questions aren’t meant to trick or call out your doctor - they’re intended to help you get what you need from the visit while helping your doctor communicate their process better.
If the goal you set was to understand your symptoms, and you’re still not sure by the end of the conversation, you can ask:
What diagnoses are you considering?
Can you explain what you think is causing my symptoms?
Are there any tests that could help you figure out what’s going on?
Is there a specialist who could investigate this more?
Can you explain why you don’t recommend any blood tests / imaging?
Would [test you’ve heard about] help us understand this better?
If your goal was to get treatment, you can ask:
What’s the typical treatment for this?
What would have to be different for me to be eligible for treatment?
What’s the risk of not treating this?
Do you know of any allied healthcare providers who treat this kind of thing?
Would I be a good candidate for [treatment you’ve heard about]?
Is there a treatment option that doesn’t [thing that doesn’t work for you - e.g. involve weight loss, require me to take a pill every day, etc.]
Is there any other treatment option I can try? - or see this entire blog post about asking for alternative treatment options.
Take detailed notes
Write down important information and instructions from your provider. Appointments can be a bit of a whirlwind, so you’ll want to write down:
diagnoses you are given
tests you’re being sent for
referrals you’ll need to do follow up with
recommendations or prescriptions, including instructions, frequency, expected side effects, concerning side effects to look out for, and any follow-up instructions like refills and retesting.
At the end of each appointment, review your next steps. Check your notes, and read them back to your provider for confirmation, for example:
“OK, so to recap: you’re going to send me a requisition for a blood test - I will get it done ASAP, then you’ll message me telling me if I should just start taking my iron again, or if I should book a follow-up appointment to discuss this further. If I need to start iron again, you’ll send me another requisition to get done after 6 weeks, and then after that we’ll meet to see if my energy is any better. Is that right?”
What do you do if you’re not satisfied with what your doctor offers?
If you’ve tried all these methods to communicate better with your GP, and you haven’t been able to get an assessment you feel satisfied by, or a treatment plan that works for you, you have a couple options.
Ask for a referral
You may be able to get a referral to a specialist. You’ll need to demonstrate to your GP that the work you’ve done together hasn’t adequately managed your symptoms. Remember to emphasize the impact your symptoms are having on your life.
In the Ontario healthcare system, primary care providers are the only practitioners who can refer to specialists - and they take this role very seriously, as waitlists are already long. Because of this, you’re not guaranteed to get a referral, or you might end up waiting a long time.
So what can you do instead?
See an allied healthcare provider
If you have extended health benefits or the budget to work with other practitioners outside of OHIP, you may want to consider adding allied healthcare practitioners to your team. And when you do this, you have total control over who you pick, which means you should find providers who will see, hear, and support you as you are.
Some types of allied practitioners you may want to consider working with are:
Mental health therapist (psychotherapist, psychologist, or social worker)
Physiotherapist
Massage therapist
Acupuncturist or Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner
Dietician
Kinesiologist
Naturopathic doctor
A naturopathic doctor can fill in a lot of the gaps you struggle with when it comes to your GP - we can take the time to address all your health concerns and how they fit together, and can offer treatment options that may not be in your GP’s toolbox, and might align better with your values and priorities. We can also order blood tests, explain results and diagnoses in more detail, and offer a full assessment and naturopathic diagnosis in many cases.
As a queer, neuro-affirming, body neutral practitioner, I also I ask about your goals, I welcome relevant tangents and gently keep you on track, I explain my assessment in SO MUCH DETAIL, and we talk through the benefits, risks, cost, alternatives, and risk of not treating for every recommendation, without you needing to ask. Plus, you get your treatment plan in written form after every appointment so you don’t have to take notes unless it helps you.
A naturopathic doctor can’t replace a primary care provider, so bookmark this page to refer back to the next time you have an appointment with your GP, and book a free 15 minute discovery call to see if I’d be a good addition to your team.
This post is the first in a series about navigating healthcare. Come back soon for additional posts on:
