Health Access for Independent Living (HAIL) Fact Sheet: Working with Your Health Care Provider

Communication Barriers

Effective communication helps to ensure proper diagnosis and treatment. Planning for your visit can improve communication.

• Write down all of your questions in order of importance to discuss with your doctor.

• Ask if you can bring your friend or aide, if you have one, to the appointment with you so he/she can take notes about what’s discussed. Some people like to record a doctor’s visit on their smart phone, but make sure you ask if this is okay. You could say, “I have memory problems, so is it alright if I record our session to listen to later?”

• Let the doctor know that all communication should be directed to you, even when you have a friend or aide assisting you. This may require a polite request, such as, “Please speak to me instead of her.”

• Tell the doctor if a certain communication strategy works best for you.

For example, you might need educational materials in an alternate format. Or you could say, “I need information presented in small chunks due to my brain injury. Do you mind speaking more slowly and repeating key points?”

• Ask if the doctor recommends certain websites that have reliable information about your condition and are written in plain language.

• Ask questions about follow-up treatment plans, if any, and the expected benefits or side-effects of medications. (See sample questions on our fact sheet “Managing Your Medications.”)