Ask Your Doctor Questions—Even About Embarrassing Subjects
By Lori Whittaker, M.D.
At no time in our history has so much health information been available to so many people in so many different mediums and forums—on television, the internet, pod casts, in self-help books and even on Twitter.
As a physician, I am pleased that my patients have access to information that can help them improve their health, but I also worry that some of what they read or hear may be mis-information.
I work with the Puget Sound Health Alliance, and one of our organization’s goals is to give you access to quality health information.
You can find information on a variety of health topics of concern to you on the Alliance’s web site at www.pugetsoundhealthalliance.org. The Alliance also has information that can help you ask the right questions when talking with your doctor.
It is important to me that my patients feel comfortable asking questions about topics and issues of concern to them, even if they seem embarrassing.
For example, do you feel comfortable having a conversation with your doctor about screening for potential health issues such as cervical cancer, chlamydia or other sexually transmitted infections (STIs)?
Or asking about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which can help prevent cervical cancer, for yourself or your daughter?
These are issues that patients of all ages may feel uncomfortable talking about.
But it is terribly important that you ask these questions. Let me focus for just a moment on one sort of infection – chlamydia – to highlight why doctors encourage patients to talk with them. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chlamydia is the most commonly reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease in the United States.
Over one million cases are reported to the CDC each year, and because of under-reporting and under-diagnosis, estimates are that as many as 3 million cases occur annually. Infection rates nationwide have gone up for the past three years in a row. In Washington state last year, more than 20,000 cases were reported.
Chlamydia is known as the “invisible” disease since up to 75 percent of infected women and 50 percent of infected men display no symptoms. Often times the first you realize something is wrong when you feel lower abdominal pain, have a low-grade fever or experience a discharge.
Here’s the good news about chlamydia: Early antibiotic treatment is extremely successful and may prevent the development of long-term complications and spread of the disease.
The unsettling news is that many women at risk still do not get screened for the infection. Asking your doctor or another health care professional for information about screening is the key first step to preventing or treating the infection.
Engaging people in a conversation about the benefits of screening for chlamydia and other diseases is a goal of the Puget Sound Health Alliance.
We publish a report called Community Checkup that measures how effectively clinics and hospitals in King, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston and Kitsap counties make preventive care a priority and test for diseases like chlamydia (or high blood pressure, cholesterol and other health concerns).
At www.wacommunitycheckup.org, you can actually see data on your local hospital or clinic.
We all—you, doctors like me, hospitals, medical clinics, insurers, employers, other health care personnel—have an important role to play in reducing the risk of chlamydia and other preventable diseases.
Let’s ask questions and engage in a straight forward conversation.
(Dr. Lori Whittaker is a practicing physician who provides consultation to the Puget Sound Health Alliance)
To learn more:
- Visit the National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus Chlamydia information page.
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