Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Talking With Your Doctor
How well you and your doctor or provider communicate with each other is one of the most important parts of getting good health care. Being prepared can help you make the most of your visit, whether it is in person or through telehealth. Here are some things you can do to make the most of your appointment:
- Make lists of any allergies you have and all the medicines, herbs, vitamins, and supplements you take.
- Make a list of the questions and concerns you want to talk about.
- If you are having any health problems, write down a description of your symptoms. Include information such as when they started, what makes them better, and what makes them worse.
- Ask a trusted friend or family member to come to the appointment with you.
- If your doctor or provider doesn't speak your language, call their office ahead of time and ask them to provide an interpreter.
- During your appointment, take notes about what your doctor or health care provider tells you. Or you could ask your friend or family member to take notes for you.
- Be honest during your appointment. Don't just say what you think your doctor or provider wants to hear. For example, don't say that you stopped smoking or are eating healthy if it's not true. Your doctor or provider needs to know what is really going on, so they can give you the care and treatments that would be best for you.
- If you don't understand something your doctor or provider says, ask questions until you do understand.
- Ask for written instructions if you need them.
- Learn how to access your medical records, so you can keep track of your test results, diagnoses, treatment plans, and medicines.
- Ask for your doctor's or provider's contact information and find out the best way to communicate with them.
- Find out what to do if you need more information later.
It sits within Social/Family Issues, Health System and Personal Health Issues.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the NIH Office of the Director.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Talking With Your Doctor
4 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research already completed
- Improving Communication About Serious IllnessUniversity of Washington
- Improving Clinician Communication Skills (ICCS)University of Washington
- ICU Family Communication StudyUniversity of Washington
- Integrating Palliative and Critical Care (IPACC) StudyUniversity of Washington
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Getting the Most Out of Your Doctor AppointmentAmerican Academy of Family Physicians
- Questions Are the AnswerAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- Talking with Your Doctor or Health Care ProviderNational Institutes of Health
- Talking with Your Doctor: Make the Most of Your AppointmentNational Institutes of Health
- Talking with Your Eye DoctorNational Eye Institute
Treatments and Therapies
- 4 Tips: Start Talking with Your Health Care Providers about Complementary Health ApproachesNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
Related Issues
- Be More Engaged in Your HealthcareAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- Living Well with a Serious IllnessAmerican College of Physicians
- Second Surgical OpinionsCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- Telehealth: MedlinePlus Health TopicNational Library of Medicine
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Nurse-Patient RelationsNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Physician-Patient RelationsNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Physician-Patient Relations, Dentist-Patient Relations, Nurse-Patient Relations. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Talking With Your Doctor, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.