In this episode, I talk about a familiar but often overlooked moment after most doctor's appointments: walking out without a clear plan. We've spent this season focusing on how to prepare for appointments, organize symptoms, and advocate for ourselves inside the exam room. But preparation only gets us so far if we leave without understanding our next steps.
I share some of my own experiences with prescriptions, medical testing, follow-up appointments, and those important details that can easily slip through the cracks when we're tired, overwhelmed, or just eager to leave.
Navigating healthcare can feel like a full-time job, and unfortunately, much of the follow-through falls on us as patients, even though most of us were never taught how to manage it.
Most importantly, I introduce the one question I now ask myself before leaving any appointment. It's a simple but powerful question to help you better understand your treatment plan, keep track of next steps, and feel more confident advocating for yourself throughout your healthcare journey.
Timestamps
[00:00:01] Preparing for Doctor's Appointments
[00:00:57] Navigating the End of Appointments
[00:05:44] Understanding Your Next Steps
[00:07:24] The Importance of Clarity in Healthcare
Disclaimer:The Hairy Chin does not provide medical advice. All content is for informational purposes only. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for personal medical concerns.
Transcripts
Spencer Moore (:
Hello and welcome back to the podcast. If you've been with me this season, you know that we've been covering a lot in terms of preparing for doctor's appointments. We've been talking about how to get clear about your symptoms, how to describe them, and also walking in with the one-page health summary.
And all of that's really amazing, and it does help us feel more empowered as we go into our appointments. But today I want to talk about those moments when you're walking out, because preparation can get you in the door, but it doesn't necessarily get you out with what you need.
So today, this episode is all about those last few minutes in the appointment, the part where you're tired, you've already said everything you've come to say, and all you probably want to do is grab your things and go. By the end of this episode, you'll know why you might be walking out without what you need, what you do need before you leave your appointment, And the one question
That you should ask yourself before you walk out that door.
I've honestly had so many experiences leaving doctor's appointments without the information that I needed. It was either to get testing done or to make follow-up appointments, and it is so frustrating when you get home and you realize that you don't have those next steps clear.
Because leaving an appointment with a treatment plan or prescription is great. But if you don't know how to follow through with that information, then you end up getting stuck and you can't move forward.
So let's talk about the end of the appointment. As I mentioned earlier, a lot of times you just want to get out of there. You've done a lot of work to prepare, you've presented your case, you've probably waited a lot, and now it's just time to get on to the next thing. And we just start checking out. It's normal, but that's where a lot of us fall in this huge gap of not having everything that will lead us to the next step.
Now I know personally that for myself, I have felt that if there's something really important that needs to happen next, that somebody will tell me.
That if there was paperwork I needed, that somebody would give it to me. If there was a test I needed, somebody would schedule it. And if there was something standing between me and the treatment I needed, then somebody would point it out. But that's really not how healthcare works. What I've learned is that a lot of the follow-through falls on us as patients. We're expected to keep track of appointments, prescriptions, testing, referrals, authorizations, paperwork.
and all of those next steps. And we're really never taught how to do that. We're not told what questions to ask or what we should be looking for before we walk out that door.
So, what does that actually look like? For me, there are a handful of things I try to make sure I understand before I leave the doctor's office. The first is prescriptions. Was anything prescribed? If so, do I know what it's for, how long I'm supposed to take it, and whether there's anything important I need to know about the medication. Also, do I have the prescription? Recently, I had an issue where I was given a digital prescription by a physician. So the prescription was prescribed as needed.
And at the time I didn't really need it. So I didn't fill it. And so when I went to the pharmacy to fill it, the digital prescription had expired. And that's actually when I needed it. It had only been valid for seven days and I didn't know. And the doctor didn't tell me. So I then had to get back in touch with the doctor, get a new prescription,
and get it filled within the time that it was active.
The second for me is testing. Was anything ordered? If so, what was the test? Where do I need to go? And are there any additional steps that need to happen before I can actually get it done? So this is where insurance authorizations come in or any sort of documentation you might need to get that testing done.
Here in Spain, when we get blood test, we have to have this small piece of paper that is attached to the blood test order and it's how they submit it for insurance billing. And in the past, you could just get it at the desk of the clinic where you get your blood drawn, but now they don't give them out. Now you have to get it directly from your doctor's office when you get that order. And since this has changed, a lot of times the doctor's offices forget to attach them. And so this is where it's on me to make sure that I have it before I leave.
Because if I show up at that blood draw clinic and I don't have that small piece of paper, then I can't get my blood drawn. And that is so frustrating when you've gone to the doctor, you've gotten the blood draw order and you go to the clinic and you can't get it done.
The third is scheduling. Do I need another appointment? If I do, when should it happen? Is somebody scheduling that before I leave? am I responsible for setting it up myself? The mistake that I've made is when I leave the doctor's office, perhaps I'm in a rush, I've been waiting, it's taken longer than usual, and I see this really long line at reception. And I think, I'll just call and make my next appointment. And then I don't. And look, I get it.
Life is busy, we have to move on to the next things. But we've made all of this effort to get there, to see the doctor, we now have a follow-up that we can schedule, wait in the line and make your appointment. And I realize sometimes there's not time to do that.
But if you can do it, then do it because it takes the burden off of you later.
And the final thing I think of in those final moments is what should I watch out for? If I'm starting a new medication, a treatment or a protocol, what should I expect? And what symptoms or changes would be a reason to contact my doctor?
Now not every category applies to every appointment. Sometimes there isn't a prescription, sometimes there's no testing. The goal isn't to check every box. The goal is to leave knowing which boxes apply to you and what your next steps actually are.
So I've talked about how your memory is not a medical record. And in this case, it's similar as well. You do not need to be relying on your memory for all of this because at the end of those appointments, your brain is really checking out. So for me, it comes down to one simple question: What's the plan? Before I leave the room, I try to make sure I understand the plan. What's the plan for my prescriptions? What's the plan for my testing? What's the plan for my follow-up appointments?
And what's the plan if my symptoms change? If I can answer those questions clearly, I usually feel pretty confident walking out of that door. And if I can't, then that's my signal that there's probably one more question worth asking before I leave.
If you've already downloaded the one-page health summary from the preparation episode near the beginning of the second season, then know that I've now updated and added a second page to that cheat sheet called the Exit page. It's a place to write down prescriptions, testing, follow-up appointments, symptoms, and any other important next steps while you're still sitting face to face with your doctor. That way you're not relying on your memory and you have a plan that is written down.
And this also applies to when you're traveling. Last week I talked about traveling abroad and how you can advocate for yourself and prepare a bit before you leave for your trip. is really important if you do have to have medical attention while you're traveling because the next steps are even less clear. You don't have patient portals, you're not within your system.
You may be given prescriptions in that country that won't be the same in the country that you're returning to. there are a lot of things that you'll want to have clear.
So the next time you're about to leave an appointment, pause for a moment and ask yourself, what's the plan?
Because the preparation walking in and the clarity walking out is the full picture that you deserve to have moving forward.
And now both pages of this equation live in the same place in this updated one-page health summary. You can find this advocacy cheat sheet in the link in the show notes below and also at thehairychin.com Thanks for being here today. I'll see you next week.
