How to Get the Most Out of Your Healthcare Appointment

This section includes:

• Tips for a Good Visit
• Questions to Ask Your Provider
• Health Care Visit Checklist
• Things to Discuss With Your Care Coordinator
• Notes From Your Discussion With Your Care Coordinator

Tips for a Good Visit

In this section, we give tips on how to get the most from your child's health care appointments and provide links to other information and resource materials.

What you need to do for a successful health care visit.

1. When you schedule your appointment remind the receptionist that your child has a disability.

2. Know your child's needs:

• a longer appointment if needed.
• a special time of day.
• limited time in the waiting room (e.g., child with autism who can not tolerate long waits in unfamiliar places).
• a time when few children are present in the office.

3. Prepare for the visit:

• list the 1 or 2 important questions you would like answered.
• make sure you bring your child's care notebook and bring copies of school reports and concerns.

Questions to Ask Your Provider

How do families who have a child with a disability or other special health care need find a health care provider who is right for them and their child? The website of the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities (NICHCY) provides some useful information on how to choose a doctor. Here is an example of some of that information.

Questions you might want to ask BEFORE THE DOCTOR HAS SEEN YOUR CHILD

Questions to ask on the phone when interviewing doctors:

• Do you see children with disabilities in your practice?
• Do you have experience with children who have (describe your child's disability)?
• Would you be comfortable working in a medical team situation with other doctors who will be seeing my child?
• Can you schedule extra long appointments?
• Who sees your patients when you are not available?
• Which hospital do you use for patients who require hospitalization or hospital tests?
• What are the facilities of this hospital for children and families like mine? If my child were hospitalized, would I be allowed to stay with him/her?
• After you've examined my child, can you arrange for one of your staff to watch him/her for a few minutes so we can talk alone?
• Would there be any additional charges for any of these arrangements?

 

Health Care Visit Checklist for Children with Special Health Care Needs

This checklist was developed by staff of Family Voices, a national parent advocacy group.  It includes information about choosing a health care provider, preparing for a helath visit, what to do during the visit and questions to ask yourself after the visit.