Healthcare professionals might think that because patients are now so well informed that they're just going to receive a barrage of questions every time they have a patient into the room. That's not typically the case. I think given the circumstances and the environment, patients usually don't say very much at all when they're sitting in front of the healthcare professional.
And I think that healthcare professionals, part of the role that they have during communication is to encourage patients to potentially tell them about frequently asked questions, and information that might stimulate their thinking to potential questions.
In my personal experience, I've had a situation where I received a diagnosis that was a little bit unexpected when I was sitting in front of the healthcare professional. And for me, you would think oh it's quite well informed, I have a healthcare background, I would know exactly what to ask. It was completely the opposite! I froze, I just accepted the information that was given to me and then walked out! And it wasn't until I got out into the carpark, I was sitting in the car and I went actually... I should have asked about that, and that, and that. And suddenly, a flood of questions - and it's too late I'm not in front of the healthcare professional ready to ask those things anymore.
So I have, I think typically patients to have a lot of questions when they go home, and they tell their family about what happened at the doctor that day. They potentially then their family start to stimulate questions, and different thinking, and a line of questioning that wasn't there at the time.
So I think, the idea of being barraged with questions is as a myth. It's not going to happen like that. But in fact, I think we do need to encourage our patients to actually ask more questions than they currently do to be involved in the conversation.
People can go to get a copy of my book by going to the URL which is www.PatientsForLifeBoook.com.au
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