THE THINKING PATIENT PLANNER

What is The Thinking Patient Planner?

 

The Thinking Patient Planner is a tool to allow patients to plan for physician appointments, set their agenda and priorities, note pressing questions, and confidently participate in the clinical process. By offering this tool to patients, providers show patients that they care about how patients engage with doctors and help to support a personalized care delivery process.

 

Use of this tool can result in more satisfying results for both the patient and the provider. For patients, benefits can include more focus on priorities for the visit, an organized way to keep track of discussions and follow-ups, and ensuring that questions are addressed. For doctors, benefits can include more effective use of appointment times, the opportunity to get to know patients better, and enhanced collaboration with the patient on the care process.  For both patients and doctors, this tool supports enhancing physician-patient relationships through improved communication.

 

Why was The Thinking Patient Planner Created?

 

The Thinking Patient Planner was created to help people prepare for their doctor appointments, and allow them to communicate to the best of their abilities during appointments. It is intended to serve as a pathway for patients to take an active role in their health care, and improve their communication with physicians. The Planner was developed through studying available research, publications, and actual experiences by both patients and physicians related to the essential parts of patient-physician communication. Each patient comes to the health care process with unique attributes, abilities, and interests. The Planner offers fundamental knowledge and skills that can be incorporated into a patient’s journey through the health care system.

 

There are many things in life that no one teaches you, so you must learn on your own. The Internet and other resources can be helpful, and if you are lucky, there are trusted people in your life to guide you. For some things, it is probably better to learn in advance of needing that skill, like changing a tire, managing money, or even finding friends and companions. In a similar way, no one teaches you how to communicate and collaborate with doctors. Whether you are currently healthy and want to maintain good health, have some minor issues or ongoing health problems, or face an urgent health issue, it is important to have strategies for working with doctors. The more comfortable you are with these strategies, the more prepared you will be to take care of your health and work in partnership with doctors.