b'Medicine & ResearchA s k t h e M S Nu rs eA s k t h e M S Nu rs eCherie Binns is a MS-certied nurse living with MS. She is the patient healthcare liaison for MS Focus and a member of the MS Lived Experience Advisory panel for the Foundation. Her monthly column addresses the issues of living with MS.Dear MS Nurse,such as diabetes or cardiac disease, and it How do I get my doctor to look at me andhas not seemed to help. Unfortunately, this listen instead of constantly in the computermay be a protocol habit that may be hard to screen and typing?Janine P.leave behind. Be patient and feel free to ask Binns: Ask him or her directly. Sometimes,why and have a discussion about it. there is a limited amount of time for a visit,Dear MS Nurse, and information needs to be ticked off in theI sometimes leave a visit and remember electronic health record just to get reimbursedsomething on the way home that I had to for the visit, that it can be drilled into theask. When I ask in the portal, it often does not healthcare team to get that in before addressingget a response. Is there any way to be sure all new issues. But try saying, I know that youquestions get asked?Brandon N. have to review and update my records, butBinns: I nd it helpful to take a list of my could I ask you to please look at me when werequestions to each appointment, but to keep speaking? It helps me to communicate withit short. I put the most pressing question at the you. I have found that most of our healthcaretop with a list of no more than two or three professionals respond very positively to thatmajor questions. Many questions can be asked simple redirection and then give you theirof the nurse or medical assistant, such as attention.rells or scheduling your MRI or infusion. I give Dear MS Nurse,the doctor my list of questions when they come Why do they always insist on weighinginto the room and I keep a copy to write down meeach visiteven whenIdonothaveaanswers. problem with weight, and it doesnt seem toBecause this issue of the magazine is relate to my MS care visit?Jonathan W.focused on the relationship with the healthcare Binns: For several years now, there has been ateam, I asked all of you what you most liked guideline in place for most healthcare visits toor found frustrating in your visits with your try and combat obesity. It seems to be a factordoctor. Here are some of your responses: in worse health outcomes when an individualMy neurologist and nurse practitioner do becomes ill and insurance companies havenot seem to talk with each other or read each mandated weight checks and BMI (basalothers notes. I see each of them once a year, metabolic index) to be calculated and in theso on alternate visits to the office, much of the record. Recently, studies have been done to seevisit time is taken up with me telling them if this is improving outcomes in conditionswhat the other has told me to do.Rita B 49 msfocusmagazine.org'