Communicating With Your Health Care Provider

Diagnosis

• What do you think my diagnosis is?

• What else could it be?

• What does this mean for my day-to-day life and for my future?

• What do I need to do to get well?

• Where can I get more information about my condition?

 

Treatment Options

• What are my treatment options?

• What kinds of studies have been done on these treatments?

• What are the benefits and risks of each treatment?

• How likely is each treatment to help me?

 

Medication

• What does this medicine do to my body?

• What other medicines would be considered and why are you recommending this one?

• What kinds of studies have been done with this medication?

• What other medicines or treatments has it been compared to? 

• How likely is this medicine to help a person like me?

• What are the risks and benefits of this medication?

• Will the medicine interact with anything I am already taking?

• What are the potential side effects? Will they fade over time? 

• When can I expect to see results?

• How will I know if the medication is working for me?

• What will happen if this medication does not work for me?

 

Psychological Treatments (therapy)

• How will this therapy help me?

• What are the alternative therapies and why are you recommending this one over the others?

• What kinds of studies have been done with this therapy?

• What other treatments have this therapy been compared to?

• How likely is this therapy to help a person like me?

• What are the risks and benefits of this therapy?

• What are the potential side effects of this therapy? Have studies assessed possible side effects?

• When can I expect to see results?

• How will I know if this therapy is working?

• How long will I need to continue the therapy?

• What will happen if the treatment does not work for me?

 

For more information, visit: TeenMentalHealth.org