Empowered Patients: BrainS.

Recently my wife and I took a class together. The topic came up about what questions a patient should ask when being told to consider a treatment or procedure. The instructor talked about using the acronym BRAIN to formulate your questions. I liked the basic structure of the acronym but like any good nerd (I say this lovingly)...I decided to improve it and I changed the acronym to brains BRAINS. So here it goes.... A doctor walks into the room and says "I want you to take this pill"....before you say "OK"; follow this train of questions. BrainS B: What is the Benefit(s) of the Treatment or Procedure? R: What is the Risk(s) of The Treatment or Procedure? A: What Alternatives are available besides this treatment? I: What is my Intuition telling me (or gut feeling) about doing the treatment or procedure? This you must ask yourself N: What would happen if I do Nothing? Or Need Time before making a decision? S: my addition. What happens if I suddenly stop treatment? This is a solid framework so you feel empowered to make a good decision. If you're my patient we should have this dialogue on each and everything I recommend, prescribe, or advise. Here's to your empowered self.

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