Keep beside you

Bring the question list.

Take this list to a conversation about care. Mark a box when the answer is clear enough to put in your own words; leave it open when it is not.

Keep the answer in view

Question

Reason

Your note

A place to record an answer, not a score.

Terms to start with

An assessment is the review of your concern and health information. A care plan sets out the next steps discussed in that review.

A clinician is a health professional who reviews your concern and talks through care with you.

A prescription is an order for a medicine from the health professional prescribing it.

A closer look at the words

An itemized bill sets out the parts of a charge. Ask for each part so you can compare the written total with what was discussed.

Read the offer

The person and the assessment

Start with who would assess you and what problem the visit is intended to address. Keep the clinician’s details beside the answers.

Who would assess me, and who would write a prescription? What California license records can I check for those people? What problem are we treating, and what else could explain it? What would need an in-person exam or a test? What options could meet this need?

Look more closely

The product and the pharmacy

Use exact names rather than a service’s program name. If a preparation is made to order, ask why that choice was made for you.

What are the exact medicine name and product form? What is the approval status of this particular product? Why is this treatment proposed for my health concern? If made to order, what need of mine does it meet? What is the preparing pharmacy’s name, and what is the sending pharmacy’s name? Which California pharmacy license records cover it?

Look more closely

The full bill

Ask for the written price alongside these answers. Keep the later price and any required commitment in the same note.

What is included in care, medicine, tests and delivery? What changes after the first offer or a refill? What would my own insurance plan pay for this product and use? What is owed if no prescription is issued or I cancel? How do I stop a recurring charge?

Carry this forward

Handling and the next conversation

Ask who will explain the supplied product and who will review the plan. Save the instructions and the route for questions together.

What storage and delivery instructions apply to the exact product? What unwanted effects need a call or urgent care? Who answers questions about treatment or feeling ill after delivery? When will the plan be reviewed, and what might change it? How can I get my visit record and written care plan?

Keep in mind

The chapter recap

An open box is an unanswered question. Keep it open until the explanation is clear; there is no score to reach.

Return to your starting goal↗

Credential checklist ↗Pharmacy checklist ↗Cost checklist ↗Follow-up checklist ↗