"What else could it be?" A scoping review of questions for patients to ask throughout the diagnostic process.

Patients are encouraged to ask questions during the diagnostic process, and numerous organizations and agencies offer patient-facing question prompt lists (QPL) to support patient-provider communication. In this review, more than 5,500 questions were identified from QPL. Most lists were intended for specific health conditions (e.g., cancer), with most questions related to treatment options. Lists contained 3 to 113 questions, with an average of 21, which the authors state is likely too many to be addressed in a 10- to 20-minute ambulatory visit.