3. Try to be brief and objective about what you report. The doctor answering your call wants to help. But there is little to do for angry argument over childcare, or who said what, if the problem is that Dad keeps passing out and it affects childcare.

4. State your concerns. Often the doctor can answer them quickly. The doctor cannot be expected to answer questions that you didn't ask. "Is this to be expected, or a sign of worsening? What is the prognosis? Is there something that we should or could be doing?" are questions that will draw a response. Sometimes it helps to write questions out before making the call.

5. Know the medicine names and doses. If you are asking a question about medicines, go over the medicines and the doses with your parents first. It is not easy to go over a list that includes "the one that Dr. Smith gave her and the eye drops that someone else gave her."

6. If there was an event, the date and time of the event is helpful, the duration of the event is also very important. "Dad keeps falling" is not the same as "Dad fell twice and wouldn't wake up for twenty minutes".

Related:

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