6 Easy Steps to Maximize Your Next Doctor Visit:Learn how these steps helped me lower my A1C levels by >4% in just 90 days

If you have to wait this long to for an appointment, wouldn’t you want to make the most of your time?

This presentation is inspired by the SmartDraw Blog post entitled, “6 Easy Steps to Maximize Your Next Doctor Visit”

To learn more and view the full blog posting go to http://blog.smartdraw.com/

It’s All About Your H.E.A.L.T.H.

In January, I was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus or simply diabetes. Although I have a family history of type 2 diabetes, the news still came as a surprise. I had hoped I would have it later in life.

Fortunately, within in the first 90 days of my diagnosis I was able to successfully bring my A1C level down from 10.5% to 6.3%. I can attribute much of my success to learning how to maximize my doctor's appointments.

An easy way to remember how to maximize a doctor visit is that it's all about your H.E.A.L.T.H: History Education Arrive Listen Track Homework.

Know Your HISTORY

SmartDraw Tip: Mind Maps are perfect for organizing ideas and thoughts. If you're in the process of remembering the progression of your symptoms, it's the perfect tool to get your thoughts in order before your next doctor's visit.

Demystify the Situation Through EDUCATION

SmartDraw Tip: To create the diagram explaining what is diabetes, I started with the Manual template. Then with the use of various symbols from the Symbol Library, fonts, text sizes and the use of color I was able to demonstrate the differences between the two.

In addition, SmartDraw has an extensive Healthcare Category that includes over 1,500 healthcare graphics as well as information sheets, medical forms and much more. If, for example, you entered "diabetes" into the search field you would discover a wealth of information on diabetes. The information available in SmartDraw is perfect not only for my own knowledge but to share with family and friends.

ARRIVE Early

LISTEN and Take Notes

Take advantage of the time in the waiting room to complete the necessary paperwork as well as give yourself time to focus on you and your health. Write down any last minute questions or recent symptoms that are not already included in the Mind Map you created earlier.

Stay focused during your appointment and listen carefully to what your doctor is saying. If you don't understand something, politely ask your doctor to explain it in simpler terms. If it will help you to remember, take notes.

TRACK Your Progress

SmartDraw Tip: I'm a visual person so documenting my glucose levels wasn't enough. I converted the data into a diagram by plotting the information using the Table feature. I used a series of symbols and colors to add emphasis to my results.

Do Your HOMEWORKSmartDraw Tip: In a previous SmartDraw Spotlight post on How to Increase Productivity Using Custom Templates, we covered how you could customize SmartDraw to your personal needs. Since I would be tracking my glucose on a regular basis, I added the "My Daily Glucose Log" as a Custom Template. Now, I can simply click and drag the custom template into the work area and enter the data.

SmartDraw Tip: Just like my previous post on Maximizing Time and Minimizing Effort with Custom Categories, I decided to create a Custom Category of all the templates and diagrams I use to track and analyze my glucose levels. All the information I've documented is centrally located. Tracking is easy when you have SmartDraw.

My Blood Glucose Daily Log

If you’d like to access the full size pdf of this Daily Log, please visit the SmartDraw blog post titled “6 Easy Steps to Maximize Your Next Doctor Visit.”

About RuthJoy Bitner, M.Ed.With a M.Ed. in Human Resource Development and Organizational Behavior, RuthJoy has become a trustedadvisor and educator working with mid-market to globalorganizations providing change management and useradoption strategy services for more than 15 years. As theDirector of Learning and Organizational Development ofSmartDraw Software she continues to coach and mentor

professionals from non-profits to Fortune 500 companies.

An unashamed perfectionist and absolute “SmartDraw Addict,” she discovers innovative ways to use diagrams in her day-to-day activities to increase productivity and efficiency for herself as well as her clients.

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