5 questions to ask your doctor before every (expensive) treatment

Just like financial advisors and real estate agents, medical doctors do not necessarily propose a solution that is in your best interest. Therefore, if you do not want to be taken advantage of, you need to educate yourself and be proactive in understanding more about what is proposed. The following are five simple questions you can ask your doctor if a treatment is expensive and/or otherwise suspicious:

1. Which advantage/success can I expect from this treatment?
2. What are the associated risks?
3. What evidence is there that the advantage/success will really materialise? For example, are there any reputable long-term studies on the subject?
4. What could happen if I take more time to think and we both observe the future development of my issues? Often, the "wait and see" option is a very reasonable and cheap alternative.
5. Would you also carry out this treatment on yourself or your family members? If your doctor cannot or does not want to answer this question with confidence, then you should probably go to somebody else.

Asking these five simple questions is definitely a step out of the comfort zone for most of us. However, it becomes much easier with practice and if we regularly remind ourselves that much is at stake here: Our health and our money! As a personal example, I used to blindly agree with whatever my dentist would say was needed for my teeth. Later, when I changed dentists due to a move in my workplace, it turned out that several of the tooth fillings I had received earlier were totally unnecessary and of poor quality. Moreover, be suspicious if a particular doctor is using very open marketing techniques e.g. by strongly recommending specific products of affiliated businesses without mentioning alternatives.

Source of the five questions: Eckart von Hirschhausen, http://www.hirschhausen.com/engagement/gute-fragen.php