Introduction
Welcome to the ultimate guide on how to get the best care from any doctor! Eating the right foods can have a huge impact on your health and wellbeing, and this guide will show you how to make the most of your doctor visits by eating the right foods. We’ll cover the basics of nutrition, the importance of eating a balanced diet, and the top foods to eat to get the best care from any doctor. We’ll also provide tips on how to make healthy food choices and how to make sure you’re getting the most out of your doctor visits. So let’s get started!
The #1 Way to Get the Best Care From Any Doctor — Eat This Not That
When it comes to getting the best care from any doctor, there is one simple rule: Eat This Not That. Eating the right foods can make a huge difference in your overall health and well-being. Eating the wrong foods can lead to a variety of health problems, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and more.
Eating the right foods can help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic diseases, and even improve your mood. Eating the wrong foods can lead to weight gain, poor nutrition, and an increased risk of developing chronic diseases.
The best way to get the best care from any doctor is to make sure you are eating the right foods. Eating a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats is essential for good health. Avoiding processed foods, sugary drinks, and unhealthy fats is also important.
In addition to eating the right foods, it is also important to get regular physical activity. Exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, reduce your risk of chronic diseases, and improve your overall health. Exercise can also help you manage stress, improve your mood, and increase your energy levels.
Finally, it is important to get regular check-ups with your doctor. Regular check-ups can help you stay on top of any health issues that may arise. Your doctor can also provide you with advice on how to stay healthy and prevent future health problems.
By following these simple tips, you can get the best care from any doctor. Eating the right foods, getting regular physical activity, and getting regular check-ups can help you stay healthy and get the best care from any doctor.
As a doctor at Yale Medicine, I know the COVID-19 pandemic has put us all in the weeds, more or less, at various times. Headlines have shouted out the feeling of overwhelm, languish, and burnout in doctors and patients. What can we do? Here are three easy tips to ACE (Focus on Agenda, Connection, Expertise) your healthcare visit from my new book How to Improve Doctor-Patient Connection: Using Psychology to Optimize Healthcare Interactions. Read on—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had COVID.
As a doctor, I used to dread the “patient list” – a piece of paper, often hand-written, with a list of at least five things that the patient wanted to talk to me about. Now I welcome it! If I don’t see one, I make sure to ask very early on in the visit – what do you want out of this visit today? And once I get an answer, I still make sure to ask, Anything else? I know from firsthand experience how difficult it can be to be a patient or a patient advocate. Emotions can be high, including fear and confusion. I know my patients might be “trying to keep it together” when given scary diagnoses like cancer. Doctors and patients need to remember that when emotion is suppressed, you are less able to make good decisions or process new information. So write your Agenda down if that is the only way you will remember to tell your doctor what you need.
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Unfortunately (or fortunately), I have had enough experience with serious medical diagnoses on the patient side to now know that it is important to connect with your doctor. Connecting might take time, and it might be baby steps each time you meet, but if you already know that you can’t connect at all with your doctor, there isn’t enough trust in that relationship. Without trust, you are not going to be able to tell your doctor the important things like, “this medicine makes me unbearably sick”. Or, I can’t afford that medicine, and that’s why it looks like I am not listening to you. Or, I can’t afford to take time off, so that’s why I keep missing critical appointments with you. These are all things that my patients have told me more recently, sometimes tacking on comments like, I can tell you this, but I can’t tell my other doctors. This is not to say that I am better than other doctors – I am only human, and I have disappointed many patients (without meaning to).
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How do you begin to connect? Start with eye contact, a smile, and a How are you today, Dr. X? Use the doctor’s name, note the doctor’s eye color (so you know you made eye contact), and take note if the doctor does or doesn’t smile back.
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The doctor-patient relationship is a relationship, and there are at least two important people (sometimes more, for example for pediatric patients – family members, or patient advocates, can also be an important member of the relationship) – the patient and the doctor. Both are experts! The doctor has studied for years, it is true. But the patient has lived forever in his/her/their own body, in their own skin, in their own circumstances. Sharing expertise makes the relationship stronger.
How do you share your experience and make sure you understand the doctor’s viewpoint? Ask the doctor to let you repeat what you think you have heard. And ask the doctor how you follow up with any concerns/questions/side effects. Start there and see what happens!
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My patients and I continue to wear masks during clinic visits, except when I examine or perform procedures on the face. I must admit, it is always refreshing to see someone’s entire face and connect a visible smile with the associated movements of the eyes, eyebrows, and forehead. However, the good thing about establishing a connection through eye contact (use the habit of noting eye color) is that you can do this in spite of masks. As the COVID pandemic marches on, and approval for vaccination of children ages 5-11 starts a new wave of vaccinations in the United States, trust between doctors and patients and their family members is more important than ever. And to protect your life and the lives of others, don’t visit any of these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.
Christine J. Ko, MD is the author of How to Improve Doctor-Patient Connection: Using Psychology to Optimize Healthcare Interactions (Routledge, 2021). She can be found at christinejko.com and on Twitter @ChristineJKoMD. You can buy her book here. She is a professor of dermatology and dermatopathology at Yale School of Medicine and sees patients at the university’s medical practice, Yale Medicine.