List-less No More!

Several years ago an article appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine reporting on a term used by French physicians, “La Maladie du Petit Papier”, that describes the situation that arises when patients bring a little piece of paper filled with a list of symptoms.

Note that the full term starts with “Maladie,” which translates to malady, which means illness. The point made by its originators was that patients carrying such a list, if it were long, were likely to be experiencing physical symptoms as a manifestation of mental illness. In my experience, when the list is long and the symptoms are vague, physicians are challenged to figure-out whether items on the list represent a yet undiagnosed complex illness, rare syndrome, or the astute observations of the signals a patient’s body may be sending in the absence of a known disease.

But enough about maladies and diagnostic dilemmas. Let's go back to the the idea of bringing a little piece of paper to the office visit. I am ALL for the list -- and many doctors would agree with me even though their offices are swimming in paper. Why? Because the list is a great way to communicate your concerns efficiently,“at a glance,” and reflect your proposed agenda for the vanishingly shortened visit that has been whittled to a mere 15 minutes (or less) in many offices. If your list is longer than what can be achieve in the time allotted, together you and your doctor will decide what should be covered on that visit and what might be deferred until the next meeting.

Importantly, creating the list and finding out as much as you can about your concerns ahead of time will improve your communication with your doctor and be an important step in taking charge of your health. These days, your health and healthcare are complex and you can’t afford to be passive or list-less!

Grab that little piece of paper and take it with you.

Jan