Nurses reveal the 7 questions you should never be afraid to ask your doctor

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• Nurses revealed seven questions to always ask your doctor during a visit. 
• They suggest patients advocate for themselves, as diagnostic errors (or mistakes doctors can make with treatment plans) affect 1 in 20 adults each year.
• Nurses also say if they suggest getting a second opinion, it can sometimes mean they personally don't trust the doctor and would encourage you get more information.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Nurses spend all day with doctors, so they know a thing or two about how to deal with them.

Nurses previously revealed to Business Insider facts about hospitals and patients that many people don't know. Now, they have advice on what to ask your doctor during a visit.

One of the most important things patients can do is advocate for themselves during treatment, nurses say. Diagnostic errors (or mistakes doctors can make with treatment plans) affect 1 in 20 adults each year, according to research published in the peer-reviewed journal BMJ.

Here are some questions nurses suggest you ask your doctor.

(Some nurses quoted spoke to Business Insider under the condition of anonymity. Business Insider confirmed their identities before publishing this piece.)

If you're a nurse with a story to tell, email aakhtar@businessinsider.com.

"Why?"

Nat, a registered nurse in Massachusetts, said to always ask your doctor "everything and anything," particularly to clearly explain why he or she is taking a course of action. 

Laura Landro, a longtime Wall Street Journal columnist who authored "Informed Patient," said patients can improve their health outcomes with self advocacy. In fact, diagnostic errors affect 1 in 20 adults each year, she writes.

"If there is something you're requesting, advocate for yourself and explain why," Nat told Business Insider.

"Are there alternatives to treating my problem?"

Anne, a registered nurse in North Carolina, said to ask doctors whether there are alternative treatment plans to consider.

Journal columnist Landro said half of adults with high blood pressure aren't on the correct treatment to bring it under control, and half of Americans get prescribed antibiotics for viral — not bacterial — infections.

Educating yourself on each treatment plan available can prevent unwanted side effects, Landro said.

"Could I get my records for a second opinion?"

Nurses won't openly say anything negative about your doctor, but if they recommend you get a second opinion, "that means I personally wouldn't let that doctor touch me," David, an operating-room nurse in Arizona, told Business Insider.

Bad doctors are more common than patients might think. Outdated, incomplete federal databases allowed at least 500 physicians who have been barred from practicing medicine in one state continue to work in other ones, according to a 2018 investigation in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Author and physician Jerome Groopman wrote to WebMD that you should tell your current doctor you want a second opinion so that he or she can hand over your lab tests and medical records.

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