During your initial appointment and at all subsequent appointments, you must attempt to understand what you're told about your diagnosis and treatment plan. Compliance with your treatment plan in large part depends on understanding the reasons behind decisions being made.

It's your responsibility to follow along, and to do that you will need to ask a lot of questions, so it's important to have a doctor who is open to questions. An excellent doctor is one who is knowledgeable, keeps current with new developments in his specialty, and realizes that patient comprehension is half of the battle.

Here are twenty-one questions to ask your doctor. Use it as a guide for developing more of your own questions. If you don't know an answer to any of the following questions, the question needs to be asked.

• Have you confirmed that I have arthritis?

• What type of arthritis do I have?

• What treatment plan are you recommending?

• How should I take my medications (e.g., with or without food)?

• What is the mechanism of action for each medication?

• Are you prescribing the brand name or generic version of the drugs?

• What are the possible side effects associated with each medication?

• If I experience side effects, what should I do?

• When should I expect to notice any improvement in my condition?

• How long should I stay on a medication if I'm not noticing any improvement?

• What options should I know about if I decide I need to switch medications?

• Will I need routine blood tests to monitor progress and side effects?

• When and how will I be able to get results of any tests that have been done?

• What complementary treatments do you recommend along with my medications?

• Am I able to speak directly with you on the phone if I need to call with questions?

• Under what conditions should I go directly to the emergency room?

• With which hospitals are you affiliated?

• What is the usual prognosis for my condition?

• Will I ever be able to stop taking all medications?

• How often will I need to come back to consult with you?

• Do I need to stop or modify any of my usual activities?

Your doctor's willingness to answer all of your questions is a sign of good communication. The more you see your doctor, you might expect there to be fewer general questions and more specific questions. Write down your questions as you think of them. Having a prepared list will help both you and your doctor focus on the task at hand, which is helping you.

If your doctor discourages questions, that can be reason enough to find a new doctor. Just as with any relationship, you and your doctor need to become familiar with what you each expect and how you both do things. As long as your questions get answered, do you care if your doctor prefers you ask them only at the end of the appointment? Does your doctor mind that you arrive with notes, or does she expect that you will and even encourage it? You and your doctor need to create ground rules that are agreeable to you both. Work toward developing an effective doctor-patient relationship that you will depend on for years to come.