How to Question Your Doctor’s Advice

We rely on doctors and other health care professionals to help maintain our most important asset—our health. But doctors are often very busy, and in their efforts to help as many patients as possible, complex decisions about your care can get glazed over. Patients have precious little time to engage with their doctors, so in advance of an appointment, it’s important to be prepared with any questions or concerns you might have.

Speaking up can feel strange—disrespectful, even—but remember that your doctor has your best interests in mind. The goal is a frank, honest dialogue about your health. Here are some strategies to have at the ready for making the most of your often-limited opportunities to talk with your doctor. 

Be engaged from the get-go.

Don’t wait until the end of the appointment to speak up about symptoms or concerns, says Joshua Kosowsky, M.D., co-author of When Doctors Don’t Listen: How to Avoid Misdiagnoses and Unnecessary Tests. Showing you’re invested in your health will help make a discussion about testing feel more comfortable.

Ask what the doctor is hoping to learn.

Try saying, “Explain to me what you think we’ll find with this test and how that result will help me.” If she can’t articulate how the new information might assist you, it may not be a good idea to get the test, says Brandon Combs, M.D., an associate professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a senior fellow for medical education at the Lown Institute, an organization that works to make health care more personalized.

Ask about the risks.

You deserve to know the pros and cons. If imaging is on the table, ask your doctor if she has consulted with a radiologist, and request a conversation with that radiologist to review why the imaging is necessary, says Max Wintermark, M.D., chief of neuroradiology at Stanford University. Don’t feel pressured to make an on-the-spot decision.

Explain your position.

If you aren’t receiving the answers you want, couch your decision in terms of medical costs or anxiety about getting screened, says Barbara Levy, M.D., an experienced physician and health care consultant. You might say, “I get anxious when it comes to tests, so if it’s not absolutely necessary, I’d prefer to decline it right now.” Or try, “I’m attempting to manage my health care costs, so if this test isn’t absolutely necessary, I’d rather skip it for the time being.”