STANWOOD, WA – With patients feeling rushed at the doctor's office and confused about what to ask, it's not surprising that one-third of them don't get all of their questions answered during a medical visit. To encourage better communication, Eaker Epidemiology created an online questionnaire at http://www.TalkToYourDoc.com to help women discuss menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with their doctors. A clinical study by the Medical College of Wisconsin shows the questionnaire improves doctor-patient communication.
The study's results, which were published in the January 2008 issue of the Journal of Women’s Health, show that women who used TalkToYourDoc.com were better prepared to discuss hormone replacement therapy. Ninety three percent of women said the customized printout helped during the office visit and 86% said it helped them make a decision about HRT.
Doctors also saw an improvement. They reported that patients who used TalkToYourDoc (SM) were more engaged in the discussion and asked more relevant questions. They also thought the office visits were more efficient and 87% said they would recommend the questionnaire to other patients.
“I am extremely gratified by results showing that TalkToYourDoc improves the experience for both women and their doctors,” said Dr. Elaine Eaker. “A woman's best source of personalized medical information is her own doctor and I wanted to create a tool that would help her ask the right questions based on her risk factors." A Harvard-trained epidemiologist, Dr. Eaker has conducted research on HRT. She developed TalkToYourDoc after an experience with her mother, who needed help discussing issues with her doctor after a stroke.
The TalkToYourDoc tool is a "smart" questionnaire that uses proprietary algorithms. It creates a printable guide with a patient's symptoms, health status, risk factors and a list of questions about HRT, including bioidentical hormone therapy. It's available at http://www.talktoyourdoc.com/
About Eaker Epidemiology
Eaker Epidemiology Enterprises, LLC conducts research on heart disease, women’s health and risk factors of various diseases. It received Small Business Innovation Research grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging for TalkToYourDoc. It's developing a similar tool for nursing home selection called Talk To Your Pro (SM).
