6 tips to help you get more out of your primary care visit

Your PCP needs to understand both your health and your story. Having a clear summary of your personal and family medical history can help your doctor:

• Understand patterns or risks
• Spot warning signs early
• Make informed decisions about your care

Include as much detail as you can. Focus on:

• Current and past conditions
• Surgeries and the year they happened
• Allergies
• Blood type (if known)
• Screenings and test results, including dates (such as mammograms or colonoscopies)
• Vaccines you’ve had, like shingles or flu
• Employment status
• Tobacco, alcohol or drug use
• Diet and eating habits
• How much and what kind of exercise you get
• How you sleep and how well
• Your sexual health history (if you’re comfortable sharing)

Also gather contact info for any past doctors or specialists in case your current PCP needs your records. If you have information about close blood relatives—like parents, grandparents or siblings—bring that too.

You can keep this info on paper or in a secure app. Medicare offers a tool called MyMedicare.gov to help you manage your records.

If you’re on multiple prescriptions, it’s easy to lose track. Your PCP needs to know exactly what you’re taking to avoid dangerous interactions or unnecessary side effects. If you use MyMedicare.gov, you can track your medications through Blue Button 2.0.

Create a list with:

• Name of each medication
• Dose and how often you take it
• Why you take it
• Who prescribed it

Don’t forget vitamins, over-the-counter medications, supplements or herbal remedies. These can affect your prescriptions or interact with health conditions.

Some PCPs—especially those in value-based care models—offer medication reviews that can simplify your routine and possibly save you money. These reviews make sure each medication is truly helping you, not just adding to the list.

A value-based care provider means your provider is rewarded for helping you improve your health, not for how many services they perform. That often translates into more time spent looking at the big picture—like whether all your medications are truly needed and working well together. Watch these videos to see how value-based care has helped real Humana members.

It’s easy to forget what you wanted to ask once you’re in the exam room. Writing your questions down ahead of time can help you:

• Make the most of your time
• Stay focused during the visit
• Walk out with answers

Try this approach:

• List all your questions
• Focus on the most important ones first
• Put a star next to your top 2 or 3

Examples of good questions might include:

• Why am I feeling more tired lately?
• Are my blood-pressure readings normal?
• Is there a safer or less-expensive medication option?

If you have more questions than time allows, your doctor may be able to follow up by phone or through a patient portal.

When the doctor asks why you’re there, it helps to have a short summary ready. Keep it clear and simple. 1 minute is plenty.

Here’s what to include:

• What symptoms you’re having
• When they started
• If they’ve gotten better or worse
• Any major life changes (stress, loss, caregiving)

Example: “I’ve been feeling dizzy off and on for the past month. It usually happens when I get up too quickly. I haven’t fallen, but it worries me. I’ve also been sleeping poorly since my partner passed away.”

Many value-based PCPs take a team approach to care. They may have a health coach, nutritionist or behavioral health specialist on staff who can help with lifestyle and emotional concerns. Let your PCP know if you’d like to talk to someone.

It can be hard to talk about personal issues. But your PCP isn’t there to judge. They’re there to help. Being open about sensitive topics can make your care more effective and tailored to your needs.

This includes:

• Mental health
• Bathroom habits
• Pain or changes in sexual function
• Use of tobacco, alcohol or recreational drugs

You deserve care that sees and respects the whole you. If your PCP doesn’t make you feel safe opening up, it might be worth looking for one who does.

Doctor visits can be stressful. Having a trusted friend or family member with you can help. If you are or have a caregiver, Humana has resources to support you.

A support person can:

• Take notes
• Remind you of concerns to bring up
• Help you process what the doctor says

Be sure you stay in charge of your own health decisions. If you have something private to discuss, ask your support person to wait in the lobby for part of the visit.

Other helpful tools:

• Hearing aids or glasses if you need them
• A notepad or journal to take notes
• A list of your most recent lab results or scans, if available

If you receive care from a value-based care provider, they may have designed their facility specifically for seniors with features like non-slip floors, wider hallways and lower exam tables. You can also call ahead to request accommodations for hearing or vision needs.