You should feel comfortable asking any question about your care for hip osteoarthritis (OA). Providers should also welcome questions from you about their background. Talking with your healthcare provider can help keep you feeling your best.
The following are some possible questions for your healthcare provider:
- What can I hope to achieve through treatment for my condition?
- What goals should we work toward?
- How severe is my hip OA?
- What assistive devices might help me?
- What sort of exercise program do you recommend? Why?
- What nonmedication treatments do you recommend? Why?
- Should I change my diet?
- Do I need to lose weight? How can I lose weight?
- What medications do you recommend for me? Why?
- What are the possible side effects of this specific medication?
- Can the different medications I am taking interact with each other?
- Am I a good candidate for hip surgery?
- What kind of hip surgery should I have? Why?
- What is my personal risk of complications from surgery?
- What is the best type of anesthesia for my surgery? Why? What are the specific risks?
- What are the alternatives to my current treatment?
- Should I use heating or cooling therapies? What is the right way for me to use them?
- Am I at risk for any other conditions because of my hip OA? What other monitoring do I need?
- How often should I come in for check-ups?
- How much experience do you have with each possible treatment?
- What are your personal success rates for each possible treatment?
