1. The Doctor Stereotypes You. When doctors hastily decide they know your type (and therefore your "typical" health woes) serious problems may go untreated. Doctors who see a lot of patients in the same category (middle-aged women, for example) may overlook more uncommon problems.

What You Can Do: Say, “I know something just isn't right with my body right now. Something has changed. I need you to think about my symptoms as openly as possible.” That will remind your doctor to explore how you might be different from other patients, instead of leaning on medical stereotypes.

2. The Doctor Assumes You’ve Got That “Bug” That’s Going Around. If you exhibit the same symptoms that the last 20 patients have, there will be some assumptions that you have the same condition as the others. But if the usual remedies don’t help you feel better soon, your doctor should perform another physical exam, recheck your medical history, and consider ordering blood work or other tests to go beyond the initial diagnosis.

What You Can Do: Ask, “What else could it be?” This is the best way to broaden your doc’s thinking during follow-ups if the usual treatments don’t work.

3. The Doctor Wants You In and Out - Fast! Office visits usually max out to 17 minutes. The physician walks into the examining room with chart in hand, mental wheels turning, and perhaps a diagnosis in mind. According to a study, doctors typically interrupt their patients 18 seconds into the patient's description of what’s wrong.

What You Can Do: If you feel hurried or don’t understand what the doctor is telling you, be sure to say so.

4. Your Doctor Likes Or Dislikes You Too Much. Doctors try to set aside their likes and dislikes when dealing with patients. But, that doesn't make them any different from the rest of us.  They enjoy some people and are turned off by others. When doctors put too much personal emotion in treating patients, the situation can become problematic.

What You Can Do: If you think your doc’s negative attitude is getting in the way, explain that you feel the two of you are not connecting well. That should cue the doctor to pause and take his emotional temperature. If you fear that kindness is getting in the way of care, bring a friend or a close relative to help change the dynamic in the room. This will help you stick to the subject, or help you ask tough questions.

Going to the doctor is never really easy, and it can be very intimidating to ask questions of someone who we traditionally look to as an almost infallible authority figure. So many of us are tempted to keep our doubts and questions inside and nod our heads at whatever the doctor says. Always remember that doctors are human. And if we want to get and stay healthy, we have to do a better job of taking in a deep breath and getting all those difficult questions out of our heads and onto the table, where they can actually do some good.

By Nicole Smith, BDO Staff Writer