Clinical Geriatrics

You stand up to terminate the visit with the patient; you ask the patient if there is anything else he/she would like to discuss and the patient says “no.” You close the chart and put your hand on the doorknob to leave the room and the patient says, “Doctor, there is one more thing I'd like to talk to you about.” We have all experienced this doorknob phenomenon, which usually results in having a patient with unanswered questions and the patient having a less than stellar experience with the doctor and the practice. Now here’s a way to reduce the likelihood of this happening to you.

The receptionist provides the patient with a card, shown above, upon checking in at the front desk. This allows the patient an opportunity to write out what questions he/she would like to discuss with the doctor at the time of his/her visit. The patients can complete the cards in the reception area or when they are in the exam room prior to the doctor entering the exam room.

Since using this simple technique, I have significantly reduced the number of doorknob questions I have received. It lets the doctor know what is important to the patient and takes all the mind reading or guessing out of the doctor-patient interaction.