Your visit to a doctor – the doctor consultation Most doctors offer ten minute routine appointment times. During the appointment, your doctor will check your history, inspect you, discuss the possible causes of the symptoms with you, discuss the treatments options, possibly give you a prescription, arrange tests or referrals, and discuss any kind of follow-up that may require. As you can see, this is a lot to cover in ten minutes and this is just the problem to be rectified. Things to consider before seeing a doctor: What do I want to get from my visit to the doctor? Do I need a diagnosis, a reassurance, a medication, a test, a sick note, or is it a follow-up visit for an ongoing problem? Sometimes the doctor has asked to see you, in which case it is likely to be for a drug review or for the follow-up of a current disease. Your medical History Every visit to the doctor begins with you by giving your history or story. This is a very important part of the consultation...