IDK

IDK = I don't know.

What you don't know can hurt you, especially if your health care provider thinks you do know.

I don't know. I'm not sure. It happens, especially to patients. Has a medical form every forced you to answer a question you don't know the answer to? This often means that you provided misinformation to you provider, who might assume that you DO know, then make treatment decisions based on that misinformation.

The upsurge in health questionnaires, whether online or on paper, has likely benefitted medicine, at least to the degree that providers register the contents before making diagnosis and treatment decisions. The ability to complete questionnaires online from home ahead of encounters allows you to look in your medicine cabinet, ask caretakers and/or relatives for information, and go through your files.

How hard can it be to add "I don't know" or "I'm not sure," as a choice?

Some examples:

• Do you SNORE loudly (louder than talking or loud enough to be heard through closed doors)?

How can you be in two places at the same time? You can't. If you don't have a partner, there is no way to know the answer.

• Do you have a family history of headache in any biological family member(s)?

That covers a lot of territory! With the availability of websites like familysearch.org, I have found hundreds of cousins and ancestors, living or dead. Do my providers really think I know which suffer from headaches and which do not?

• Are you receiving treatment for an injury, or illness, for which another party may be liable?

It takes a court of law to determine liability for treatment of an injury or illness. Unless you have already completed the legal process, you don't really know the answer.

• Are you receiving treatment for an injury or illness covered under no-fault (and/or medical-payment coverage) including premises or automobile?

Again, the answer to this assumes a legal determination, and do you really know the legal definition of terms like "no-fault"?

Next time your provider's questionnaire forces you to answer any question for which they do not show IDK as a response choice, be sure to tell them, or better yet the administrative person responsible for designing the forms associated with the clinic, that you do not know the answer. Make sure they know you don't know, and suggest that they add IDK as a response to every question.

Berry Edwards, MD