When patients ask you a question and you don't know the answer to...

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What are your approaches? Let say if they ask you about some interactions or side effects that you are not familiar with, how would you handle the situation? Specific examples will be appreciated

Tell them to hold on and you'll double check on it real quick. Open lexi or whatever other resources you have and take a few minutes to review it. If you can't find anything tell them to call the doctor.

"that's a great question, let me double check. I'm pretty sure, but I don't want to accidentally give you the wrong bit of information..."

if you don't know, GUESS and do it with a straight face and confidence

works everytime

Originally Posted by nnguyenc

if you don't know, GUESS and do it with a straight face and confidence
works everytime

I hope you're being sarcastic...

I would scream and hide in the bathroom...

I tell them I don't know. Then I look it up.

*shock*

Keep in mind, most questions are not URGENT. You can always call the patient back if it is going to require going to the primary literature. Even if the patient is in-person, get their number and call them back.

Tell them questions cost extra

I wish we did get paid for questions and advice. I really wish we did, all the questions I get asked during the day...... I feel we should get paid for them. For starters it would eliminate silly questions like " How are these two boxes of condems different? Or which one of these two bottles of vitamin c are better?". And as for other types of questions like "What do you think this is a rash?" if we got paid, then we really would be taking away some of the business from doctors.

And with $5 for every time we told someone where the bathroom is, how could we not be more patient friendly? We'd be as helpful as that Walgreens superhero in the commercials