Good communication with your health care team can help ensure that you receive quality care. For good communication with your health care team:

• Ask your doctor to draw a picture of what is being said. Take this picture home to help you remember what you talked about or to explain the information to your family.
• Use “I” statements when talking with your doctor. You may want to say, “I don’t understand,” rather than, “You’re not being clear.” You may also want to say, “It would help me to hear the information said in a different way.”
• Be assertive. It is okay to ask for the meaning of words you do not understand or for information to be repeated.
• Repeat information or instructions back to your doctor. If you say the information in your own words, your doctor can confirm that you have heard him or her correctly.