About Today: How to Talk to Your Doctor 1/11/11

From Jen Hubley, your About Today Editor Regular readers of this newsletter know that I'm a hypochondriac, so I see plenty of my doctor. (She might say more than plenty. I'm pretty sure she has a silent alarm installed in her office, just in case I get too crazy.)

How to Talk Effectively to Your Doctor  For the rest of you, however, now's as good a time as any to make your yearly appointment for a physical. And when you get there, here's how to talk to your doc for maximum effectiveness. Why Do You Wait in the Waiting Room for So Long? How to Talk to Your Pediatrician See More About:  patient doctor communications  dr. jerome groopman  managing expectations

Top 10 Reasons to Fire Your Doctor  Sometimes, however, you have to break up with your doctor. Here's how to decide whether it's not you, it's him. Should You Change Doctors? How Would You Rate Your Doctor? See More About:  doctors  rheumatologists  communication

Find the Best Doctor for You  My current doc is very patient - a big decider for me when it comes to picking a physician. How to Find a Doctor's Malpractice Record Why Doesn't My Health Insurance Cover the Doctors I Want to See? See More About:  board certification  primary care  patient doctor communications

The Patient's Guides to Rights and Responsibilities  And here's something I need to remember, while I'm driving my doctor to distraction: "When we patients access healthcare, we do so expecting we have certain rights. The wiser patients also realize that along with those patient's rights, we have responsibilities, too." Finding a Second Opinion Doctor What Can You Learn from Doctors Ratings or Rankings Websites? See More About:  patients rights  patients responsibilities  hipaa