Reporting to Your Healthcare Team

Something I haven’t thought about in a while is the importance of accurate reporting to my healthcare team. I'm not saying that I tell blatant lies or misleading information but I often find that when trying to remember six or eight months of information, I get it all mixed up. The average clinic visit is about 12 minutes- that is a short amount of time to fit in all the information you need to share with the team! How long do your clinic visits usually last? How long do you wait between clinic visits?

When I think back on issues, I tend to forget the severity of it at the time. Let's say, I rate something a six out of 10 today, I could remember it in a few months time as a three out of 10. Time clouds the memory and it leads to inaccurate reporting.  I used to keep a notebook where (I kind of) kept track of my symptoms and side effects. The problem with that for me was… I could never find the notebook! Do any of you do anything similar? I know it might seem like the issue of accurate reporting isn't overly significant, but the more information the team have, then the better the decision they can make. Accurate reporting leads to better outcomes.

I have been using an app called SymTrac to keep notes of my symptoms. Somehow, I find my phone a lot easier than a notebook! It's a key tool for me now, so I find it really useful and simple. Instead of having to remember everything, I let SymTrac do it for me. Do you use anything similar?

Slightly off point here, but is anyone else concerned with the idea of passing all your information to the Neurologist in 12 minutes and having to make decisions in such a short space of time? In my ideal little mind I would like to submit all this information in advance of the visit so...

1) The 12 minutes could be used more effectively  

2) A little more thought (or time at least) goes into the decisions.

Maybe I'm completely off the mark, but it could take me 12 minutes to decide between Chinese or Indian takeaway, so the idea of making decisions regarding my health in that narrow timeframe just doesn't sit well with me.

Thanks for reading. 

Aoife

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