Get the most out of your visit

One thing that patients seem to love about seeing their naturopathic doctor is the additional face time that they enjoy in each visit. I love to get to know my patients and understand the details of their health challenges. It helps me build the best treatment for each patient, lets the patient know they are cared for and it keeps each visit interesting and alive with true connection. If we can maximize the quality of the time that we have together during our visits, it helps improve care and enrich our lives.

Sometimes, the more mundane aspects of medicine can etch away valuable moments from our time together, so here’s one tip to help get the most out of your face time at your visits: come prepared with an up-to-date medication list. This helps in a few ways:

1. The work you do ahead of time translates to valuable moments spent with your doctor,

2. Fewer mistakes are made in translation if you can provide a complete list,

3. Keeping your list accurate and current means that interactions between drugs, supplements, and herbs will be easier to spot,

4. Listing dosages can help your doc immediately spot efficacy or overdose issues,

5. Listing reasons can help identify unneeded interventions, and

6. If you have a care team—multiple providers helping you reach your health goals—keeping them all on the same page about your supplements and medications is paramount.

Here are some tips to help get this valuable information to your doctor and your care team, so that you can get the most out of your visits.

• Type the list, if possible. This will help eliminate misunderstandings and allow for easy quick comprehension.

• Keep the list as accurate as possible

• Include the following items:

  • Name of medication, herb or supplement

  • Form

  • Dose

  • Frequency

  • Reason

  • Prescriber (if you have more than one provider)

We can always go over your medication list during a visit. These suggestions are an opportunity for you to get more out of your visits—more of the life-affirming, caring connection that patients love about seeing their naturopathic doctors.