Speaking with your healthcare team

Speaking with your healthcare team

Once you’ve taken the first step and found what really matters to you, it’s time to discuss these priorities with your healthcare team. This could help you work together to find a care plan to suit you, because we know you’re not done living well with MM.

Clear communication between patients and healthcare professionals before and during treatment may lead to increased satisfaction with the treatment decision.1 People who have good communication with their healthcare team have seen improvements in:2

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Satisfaction

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Health

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Quality of life

Try being open about your needs and priorities so your healthcare team is clear on what really matters to you in a care plan.

Getting the conversation started

Your appointment may be for a set amount of time, but there are things you can do to make the most of the time you have. This starts with taking the list of priorities you identified earlier. The more you and your doctor really communicate, the higher the chance you’ll feel better about your situation.3

Think about ways your priorities might affect what treatment you’re offered by your doctor. Try to be up front and clear about what your thoughts are and ask questions if you need more information. Here are some questions to help get you started thinking about what priorities you want to talk to your doctor about:

  • Do you have any questions about your disease management priorities?
  • Do you have any questions about your family priorities?
  • Do you have any questions about your lifestyle priorities?

Some tips to remember before your appointment

Make sure you tell your doctor the topic or priority you want to discuss, including how it affects you and those around you3

Don’t feel uncomfortable discussing anything at all, your doctor is there to support you3

Consider bringing a friend or family member to your appointments as support and a second pair of ears3

Ask who to contact after the appointment if you have any other questions3

Consider making notes or finding out whether you may be able to record your appointment, for example, on your phone, so that you can go back to the answers afterwards3

Double check that you understand what your doctor has said by telling them what you remember from the conversation you’ve had3

Explore more

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Preparing for your appointment

Every time you see a member of your healthcare team, make sure you know what you want to talk about

Read more
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‘Communicating effectively’ booklet

A handy booklet is available to help you with STEP 2

Download booklet
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START STEP 3:
Wellbeing with MM

The next section contains tips to help you live well with multiple myeloma

Start Step 3

References

  1. Janssens R, et al. Frontiers in Medicine 2021;8:686165 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2021.686165. Accessed: May 2024.
  2. Amiculum: Enhancing the patient-healthcare professional relationship in multiple myeloma. Available at: https://www.comradis.biz/media/wcxhentc/enhancing-the-patient-hcp-relationship-in-multiple-myeloma.pdf Accessed: May 2024.
  3. WebMD. How to talk to your doctors when they don’t listen. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/be-heard-by-dr Accessed: May 2024.
PP-UNP-GBR-4445. May 2024