Starting a new treatment: questions and informed choices
What You Should Consider When Starting A New Treatment
By Neil · Originally published 12 April 2018
Original article and dated context
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Take someone with you into the consultations(s). Two memories are better than one.
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Record the consultation. It is hard to remember detail when you are not stressed by illness or the imminent decision to consent to a treatment. If you wish you can also share the recording with family and carers, helping them to better understand what the treatment entails and how best to manage the illness after the treatment commences.
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Ask around. People know people who know people in your position. Follow the trail.
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Further along those lines, join a support group or charity that specializes in your illness. There, you will be able to contact others with the same illness. They are another important and independent source of information about any treatment proposed. After all, they have HAD it.
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Do your research before the consultation. You are likely to be asked, ”do you have any questions?” If you don’t know the questions to ask you won’t be prepared for what follows. If this is too hard for you, consider approaching an advocacy group to help you.
[Clickability update, October 2026: Ask before recording and agree how it will be used or shared. A written summary is another option. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care guidance explains informed consent, risks, benefits and alternatives; a recording alone does not establish understanding.]
Clickability editorial update: October 2026
Bring the questions that could change your decision
Ask what the treatment is intended to achieve, the possible benefits and harms, alternatives and what happens if you wait or decide against it. Tell the clinician what matters to your daily life. Request information in a form you can use and time to consider it where the situation allows.
The national informed-consent guidance puts your needs and preferences within the decision. If you want a supporter present, agree their role. Ask for a summary and clarification rather than feeling you must remember every detail immediately.
Help prepare and remember without deciding for the person
Ask which questions the person wants help raising and what information they want you to receive. You can take notes with agreement and help organise practical questions about aftercare, costs or assistance. Keep the person’s goals and concerns visible during the discussion.
Treat support-group experience as a source of questions rather than a prediction. The clinician needs to explain the options for this person. Check before recording or passing information to others, and do not assume being a carer gives permission to make every treatment decision.
Questions readers ask
Does recording a consultation automatically make it appropriate to share?
No. Agree recording and sharing beforehand and follow applicable rules.
Can another patient’s outcome decide whether treatment suits you?
No. Discuss your own circumstances with the treating team.
Find daily support around the plan you have discussed
If you need disability-related assistance alongside care, tell Clickability what tasks require support. Compare reviewed and rated providers and discuss the agreed needs.