Various studies have shown that, on average, patients spend less than 15 minutes with their doctor on any given visit.

With so little time to address your health care, it’s important you maximize what time you do spend with your doctor by being a well-prepared patient.

Keep in mind that your doctor works for you. No one person has more information about your medical history than your doctor and the more your doctor knows about you, the better equipped he or she is diagnose and treat you.

If you have concerns, speak up. If you don’t think you’re getting top-notch care, talk to your doctor and see if you can find out the root of the problem. If you’re still not satisfied, check doctor ratings on Angie's List to find a new doctor.

6 steps to forge a strong relationship with your doctor:

1. Schedule a regular checkup: The easiest way to build a relationship is to see your doctor regularly. Scheduling a yearly exam – or more, depending on your medical condition – is important to maintaining a familiar relationship and in monitoring your evolving health.
2. Know your vitals: Keep track of things like blood pressure, weight, cholesterol and other vital statistics. Knowing this information, where you are and where you need to be, is vital itself.
3. Bring your medications: By bringing in any prescription or over-the-counter medications you take, your doctor can identify any potential unsafe interactions and ensure you are taking medications that best meet your health needs.
4. Be prepared to ask questions: Make a list of questions or health concerns you may have before your exam. List them in order of importance to you so you address your top concerns early in the appointment. If you don’t get to all of your questions, schedule a follow-up appointment.
5. Take notes: When your doctor shares information with you about your health, write it down. “Temporal arteritis” sounds an awful lot like “temporary arthritis,” but the two terms have vastly different meanings and it’s important you’re clear in understanding what your doctor says. Taking notes can serve as a reminder to ask follow-up questions during your visit or to help you research more later on your own.
6. Be honest: Some ailments might be embarrassing and some pains may not seem significant, but if you don’t tell your doctor the whole truth, you’re limiting his or her potential to help you. Doctors aren’t mind readers, and they need as much good information as you can give them. Err on the side of confiding too much rather than holding back. If you’re not comfortable sharing intimate information, you may want to find another doctor who can make you more comfortable.

With improvements to plastics and composites and better water sealers for wood, there's no right or wrong decking choice. Deck contractors recommend you consider a style to match your house. Wood or wood-like composites might best fit older homes, while plastic or vinyl could be the perfect choice for contemporary residences. A breakdown of the different options:

Wood

This category includes the old standby, pressure-treated pine, as well as cedar, redwoods and tropical hardwoods such as mahogany or South American Ipe. Pine is the least expensive, but also the least attractive. Significantly more expensive are cedar and redwood, which have natural resistance to pests. However, left untreated, they will weather to a gray color. Tropical woods are at the upper end of the price bracket but exceptionally durable and prized for their beauty. They need no treatment, are naturally resistant to insects and fire and have a long life span. However, there are concerns that harvesting the woods comes at the expense of rainforests.

Composites

Each manufacturer has a unique recipe, but here's what they all have in common: a wood or organic product such as sawdust, wood flour or rice hulls combined with some type of plastic to form pieces of lumber. Some brands, such as Trex, use recycled wood products and plastics made of recycled milk jugs and soda bottles. Others, such as Timbertech, use only virgin plastics. Most composite products are made in an extrusion process, similar to making a hot dog, where the lumber mixture is pumped into a form. EverGrain, on the other hand, uses a compression process, much like a waffle iron, where the mixture is squeezed into a mold. Composites tend to retain heat more than wood but also are splinter-free, resistant to insects and moisture and, with proper care, won't split or crack.

Plastics

Plastics are generally more expensive than composites or cedar. Some brands rely on recycled products and others, such as eon, use only virgin materials. Exceptionally durable and as maintenance-free a product as you can find, they are impervious to insects and moisture, have a high fire rating and retain color better than composites. As plastics tend to swell and contract with temperature fluctuations, however, railings and boards can feel loose. Some complain that walking on a plastic deck can even have a bouncy feel. Though grain patterns and colors are improving, pure plastic still can't match the natural look of composites.

Increased international travel, changes in pest management practices and a lack of public awareness has led to a resurgence of bedbugs in the United States unseen since World War II.

What you should know about bedbugs:

• The nocturnal, appleseed-sized bedbugs feed exclusively on blood, though they have the ability to survive for months at a time without a meal.
• Female bedbugs can lay up to five eggs per day, so a major infestation can happen quickly.
• Visual confirmation of bedbugs is so difficult, some companies offer canine investigation, where they use specially-trained dogs to locate infestations of bedbugs.
• Bedbugs are not known to transmit disease, but their bites can cause an allergic reaction or infection.
• Not everyone has an adverse reaction to bedbug bites, but symptoms typically appear as a row of itchy, red welts.
• The key to preventing an infestation of bedbugs is to minimize your risk of exposure to them. Because bedbugs are non-discriminatory about the environment in which they live, you can pick them up anywhere from a summer camp, to a college dormitory, a hospital, or even the most posh hotel. Angie’s List members nationwide responded to a recent poll about bedbugs, and more than half of those who had been exposed to bedbugs said they got them after staying in a hotel.

If you think you might have bedbugs, it’s important you address it quickly and contact a qualified pest control service to provide a thorough inspection and diagnosis before you seek treatment.

5 tips to minimize your risk of exposure to bedbugs:

• Don’t be tempted to pick up that used piece of furniture someone put out for trash pickup. The ideal habitat for bedbugs is on mattresses and box springs, where they are usually guaranteed a food source for eight hours a day. However, bedbugs have also been found in rental or reconditioned furniture, and inside delivery vehicles. One Angie’s List member rented a medical lift chair that was infested with bedbugs. 

• Always inspect the room in which you’ll be staying if you’re away from home. Leave your luggage outside the door and use a flashlight to check mattress seams and along bed frames, headboards and box springs for signs of bedbugs. Look closely at sheets and blankets for evidence that could include exoskeletons (shed skins) of younger bugs and “spotting”, which are small, dark stains from excreted blood. If you notice signs of bedbug activity, immediately request another room.

• When you travel, keep your personal items in sealed plastic bags. Keep bags and luggage off floors and beds.

• Thoroughly inspect your belongings before bringing them back into your home. If you suspect bedbugs, unload your luggage on a hard surface, like a bathtub. Immediately wash items you believe might be infested in the hottest temperatures possible. Wash by hand items that can’t be laundered; dry, then thoroughly vacuum and discard the bag.

• A cluttered area in your home offers an unlimited number of hiding places for bedbugs and make eradication even more difficult. Keep your rooms and closets tidy, and avoid putting items under your bed.

5 ways to treat for bedbugs:

• Clean: Thoroughly clean an infested room. Wash linens in hot water. Remove clutter, turn over drawers and furniture and clean thoroughly. Disassemble bed frames and clean. Repair and seal cracks and holes around baseboards, window frames and moldings. Vacuum thoroughly and discard the bag.

• Dust treatment: There are organic insecticidal dusts available that are all-natural, but lethal to bedbugs and may be used by a qualified professional in conjunction with other treatments.

• Heat treatment: Some pest control companies use specialized equipment to heat up a room to at least 120-degrees Fahrenheit for two or more hours to kill off bedbugs.

• Mattress covers: Use entomologist-approved bedbug mattress covers. By encasing mattresses, bedbugs are restricted to the surface, where they can be more easily detected and eradicated. Encasements should be bedbug “bite-proof” and “escape-proof”.

• Structural fumigation: The most extreme and costly method, but also the most effective. Not to be confused with “fogging” or “bombing”, structural fumigations require the structure be covered with a tarp and vacated for several days, while a fumigated gas is released. Be sure to contact a pest control company that is licensed in fumigation services.

Be leery of pest control services that try to treat bedbugs like they would a general pest. What works for termites or carpet beetles won’t work for bedbugs.