b'Your Healthcare Tools Shared decision-making is the process whereby your healthcare team collaborates with you to reach the best medical decisions for your treatment plan. The challenges to this shared decision-making process are (1) how much knowledge do you, the patient, have in this situation and (2) how much does your healthcare team explain? You cant actively participate in the decision if you dont understand all the options. Unfortunately, with the limited time in most doctor visits, people often have to go out of their way to research questions about their own treatment plans, such as what medication is best for them, which one will insurance cover, how long the medication has been on the market, and many more questions. With this uncertainty, it is easy to just rely on your healthcare team to guide you and make the decisions about your treatment. But you are the only person who knows your body and how it feels daily. The only person who can say what risks you are willing to take and what time you have available to devote to treatment is you. So how do you take an active part in making the right decisions for you and make each doctor visit the most effective? Communication.Communication is the key When you communicate and your healthcare team reciprocates, both parties win. Lets go through some scenarios on how to make the most of your doctor visits and advocate for yourself in important healthcare decisions.Your healthcare provider is talking too fast or using words you do not understand. Politely ask him/her to slow down or use easier medical terms for you to understand. Your healthcare provider is explaining how a medication or disease process worksin the body and you cannot picture it. Ask him/her if they can draw you a diagram or a picture; some people are visual learners. You feel nervous at doctor visits and forget some of the questions you wanted to ask; now you must come back again to ask those questions. Write down your questions at home as they come to you. Before your visit ends, ask your healthcare provider if they can answer some for you. 8'