What Your Doctor Needs to Know

Learning about your doctor is an important part of being your own health advocate, and I go into great depth about this topic in my book, Not Your Mother’s Hysterectomy: A Transformation in Women’s Health Care. However, an equally important part of the hysterectomy process is giving your doctor the important information about yourself, so he or she can care for you thoroughly. Your doctor will need certain key pieces of information about your health history, your current health status, and your individual desires and concerns. When I see patients in my practice, I approach each patient like a puzzle, and part of my job is to put the pieces of the puzzle together to create an accurate portrait of the individual. Your doctor will need to know all the pieces of your  unique health history so she can develop a picture of you. These pieces of information can be broken down into four parts:

• The information you need to fill out your health questionnaire.
• Your past medical records.
• Details about your current problem, and
• Your feelings regarding important issues related to your surgery.

In the reference section of my book, and in my online toolkit here, I include a handy list of things you’ll need to prepare for your visit. Your doctor may request more information, but this should cover the majority of important areas.