Asking the right questions

You can ask questions that help:

• your health care team help you make choices that suit your needs and lifestyle
• you understand how treatment may affect your day to day life
• prepare you and your family for any treatments.

Finding the treatment, care and support that’s right for you is important to us.

Asking questions about your lifestyle

The easiest way to start is to ask how your condition and upcoming care may affect your day to day life. Consider things like taking care of your children, work and travel.

What's happening with your health now

Ask yourself questions about your health condition and how you’re managing now. This will help you evaluate your situation and any areas you may want to raise with your healthcare professional.

What is the health condition you’re seeing your health care professional about today?

• Do you have more than one illness or disease you want to talk about?
• Are you having any treatment for them?
• Are you taking any medication for them?

What day to day activities do you ideally need to keep doing?

• Do you need to keep working?
• Do you need to be able to drive?
• Are you caring for children, or anyone else?
• Are you caring for pets?

Do you have any important events coming up?

• Do you have appointments for medical treatment?
• Do you have any schooling or work commitments?
• Have you planned any travel or other social events?

---

Understanding the impact on your life

You can ask your healthcare professional these questions about the impact starting a new treatment or medicine may have on your life.

Before starting

• How long will I need to have it and how often?
• Will it affect what I’m taking now or do I need to stop or change it?
• How much does it cost - are there concession card or private health cover options?
• What are the possible side effects or risks?
• What happens if I miss a treatment or taking the medication?
• What impact will it have on my usual day to day activities?
• What impact will it have on important events in the next few months?
• Where can I find more information?

Getting started

• When do I start?
• Where do I get it?

Getting treatment

• Can I drive myself or will I be unable to drive afterwards?
• Can I bring someone with me?
• Can I bring my children?
• Do I need to bring anything else with me?

---

Ongoing care

These questions might be beneficial to ask during treatment or while taking medication:

• What do I do if it doesn’t seem to be working or if I feel worse?
• Are there other treatments or medications I could have?

---

Understanding the information and answers

These prompts are helpful to ask to ensure you have understood what your healthcare professional has said:

• Have I understood this correctly?
• Could you please explain that to me again?
• Where can I get more information and support?

More information

Read more about managing and providing feedback on your health care on the following websites:

• Top Tips for Safe Health Care - Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
• Informed consent - Queensland Health
• Ryan’s Rule - Clinical Excellence Queensland
• Patient reported experience and outcome measures - Queensland Health