Questions to Ask Your Nephrologist
Nephrologists are kidney doctors who diagnose, treat, and manage chronic kidney disease. Before you decide on a treatment plan, you will want to understand the various chronic kidney disease treatment options. You should also discuss your disease prognosis, possible complications, and potential lifestyle changes with your nephrologist.
Getting the most out of the time you have with your healthcare team sometimes means asking the right questions.
Getting the Right Information at the Right Time
The information on this website is intended to supplement what you have discussed with your healthcare team. Combining this information of available chronic kidney disease treatment options with what you have already been told may help you make important treatment decisions.
- to decide whether or not you want to have treatment
- to choose between different types of treatment
- to decide whether you want to continue with the same treatment
What you choose to do should depend on what is important to you.
3 Good Questions to Ask
When it comes to you having to make decisions about your healthcare, in collaboration with your healthcare team, it is a good idea to ask these 3 questions:
- What are the treatment options available to me?
- What are the pros and cons of each treatment option?
- How do I get support to help me make a decision that is right for me?
These 3 questions are based on Shepherd HL, et al. Three questions that patients can ask to improve the quality of information physicians give about treatment options: A cross-over trial. Patient Education and Counselling, 2011;84: 379-85
As you schedule your appointment with your healthcare team to discuss your options, refer to this document to better understand the benefits of each type of dialysis available to you.