Decades ago when i was a medical student i used to accompany one of my elder relatives to her doctor . He was a nice doctor but i didnt like him . The reason being he wont talk . Buzzling with curiosity i wanted him to discuss how he arrived at his diagnosis , why he treated the way he did etc . I was not to blame because inspite of the private visit (he was a retired senior physician ) i wanted him to discuss my relatives case in detail . I would have told my elder relative not to go to him but there was a big problem . She liked him so much and also his treatment was working very much . And jokingly we used to tell that she was in love with him .... One day i asked her why she liked him (as a doctor of course ) so much ... And the answer shocked me ....,HE DOESNT TALK MUCH . I like it that way .
Medical practice has changed so much in recent years and following it very closely i find theres so much change in the doctor patient relationship . Actually its inevitable because of many reasons a few prominent ones ....
1. Inspite of tremendous advancement in all fields of science including healthcare it still hasnt progressed as much as the "demand " . As a brief example most of the tests have an accuracy less than 100 percent while even educated people expect 100 percent accuracy in diagnosis .
2 . cost of healthcare has gone up at least in part due to costly healthcare equipment . And while the average person wants to enjoy all the benefits of these fascinating technologies few are ready to pay for it . I have personally seen people who spent 10000 rs for a dress who cry spending 40 rs for medicine . The same goes for lifesaving surgeries which are often available even now in india cheaper than many home appliances ..
3. I have also witnessed the same people who wants doctors to be ethical and humane but sitting around a table and discussing multicrore project of hospital and discussing ONLY the business aspect of it . ( And none of them where doctors ) ..Most healthcare is owned by businessmen who have the same ideals as soceity .
I mentioned these points because the "trust " in the doctor patient relationship has definitely lessened ( I will not say its gone as im optimistically pessimistic in most things ) and the "fault " is on both sides of the equation . Now all this lack of trust and the loud voiced discussions about the "bad doctors " gives way to confusion when the time to find a doctor for any of your illness comes near .Because here discussions turn into panic .
Some suggestions :
1. Get a referral from a family friend doctor . In that way he/she will have your best interests in mind when choosing a specialist . Also he will have a good idea about specialists expertise and experience .
2. Trust your instincts when assessing a new doctor . In medicine call it the "placebo effect(refer wiki ) " the doctor patient relationship is also important for cure . But instead of complaining that all or most doctors are bad its important that you choose one depending on your personality . Just like i told in first para i have seen many patients who want a brief explanation not all the possible complications and others who want to hear everything .
3. If you are not comfortable and for life changing therapies get a second opinion . This doesnt mean keep on shopping around for doctors too much (i mean going around more than 2-3 doctors ) .
4. In healthcare a doctor is expected to have ultimate knowledge , the ultimate communication skills and the ultimate ethical behaviour . But practically this ideal can never be reached because doctors are representatives of the soceity they represent . So when choosing a doctor also have reasonable expectations .
5 . Read up on the internet from good sites about your health and illnesses . And use it as an aid in your understanding of the illness to make informed choices . All too often i have seen on one extreme educated people who have zero knowledge on their illness and on the other extreme so much partial knowledge only to question the doctor (not question about the illness ) . Yes , why i mention this is if you are in current generation choose a doctor who talks logically and friendly to you about the illness and answer your questions (not questioning ..). But always remember the time limitations of a consultation which the poor doctor is helpless about . So ask the most important questions and forgive him/her for not being too talkative because of the big queue outside
So in this era the onus is on the patients to make informed choices , take more active part in their illness including taking some responsibility for the bad outcomes . And exercise your choice wisely so that you yourself can collectively weed out the unethical ones from the real good ones ( there are many ) . And above all have realistic expectations especially since even today diseases dont respect neither the doctors nor their patients and doctors should be blamed only for their mistakes and not blame when the real culprit (the disease ) does its job .
"Reflecting on his career in medicine years later, Dr Michael Crichton concluded that patients too often shunned responsibility for their own health, relying on doctors as miracle workers rather than advisors . "...... And luckily we got the Jurassic Park novel and lots of others because of this decision . But we want a few of the good ones in the field to fight the deadly diseases .
Comments welcome
Medical practice has changed so much in recent years and following it very closely i find theres so much change in the doctor patient relationship . Actually its inevitable because of many reasons a few prominent ones ....
1. Inspite of tremendous advancement in all fields of science including healthcare it still hasnt progressed as much as the "demand " . As a brief example most of the tests have an accuracy less than 100 percent while even educated people expect 100 percent accuracy in diagnosis .
2 . cost of healthcare has gone up at least in part due to costly healthcare equipment . And while the average person wants to enjoy all the benefits of these fascinating technologies few are ready to pay for it . I have personally seen people who spent 10000 rs for a dress who cry spending 40 rs for medicine . The same goes for lifesaving surgeries which are often available even now in india cheaper than many home appliances ..
3. I have also witnessed the same people who wants doctors to be ethical and humane but sitting around a table and discussing multicrore project of hospital and discussing ONLY the business aspect of it . ( And none of them where doctors ) ..Most healthcare is owned by businessmen who have the same ideals as soceity .
I mentioned these points because the "trust " in the doctor patient relationship has definitely lessened ( I will not say its gone as im optimistically pessimistic in most things ) and the "fault " is on both sides of the equation . Now all this lack of trust and the loud voiced discussions about the "bad doctors " gives way to confusion when the time to find a doctor for any of your illness comes near .Because here discussions turn into panic .
Some suggestions :
1. Get a referral from a family friend doctor . In that way he/she will have your best interests in mind when choosing a specialist . Also he will have a good idea about specialists expertise and experience .
2. Trust your instincts when assessing a new doctor . In medicine call it the "placebo effect(refer wiki ) " the doctor patient relationship is also important for cure . But instead of complaining that all or most doctors are bad its important that you choose one depending on your personality . Just like i told in first para i have seen many patients who want a brief explanation not all the possible complications and others who want to hear everything .
3. If you are not comfortable and for life changing therapies get a second opinion . This doesnt mean keep on shopping around for doctors too much (i mean going around more than 2-3 doctors ) .
4. In healthcare a doctor is expected to have ultimate knowledge , the ultimate communication skills and the ultimate ethical behaviour . But practically this ideal can never be reached because doctors are representatives of the soceity they represent . So when choosing a doctor also have reasonable expectations .
5 . Read up on the internet from good sites about your health and illnesses . And use it as an aid in your understanding of the illness to make informed choices . All too often i have seen on one extreme educated people who have zero knowledge on their illness and on the other extreme so much partial knowledge only to question the doctor (not question about the illness ) . Yes , why i mention this is if you are in current generation choose a doctor who talks logically and friendly to you about the illness and answer your questions (not questioning ..). But always remember the time limitations of a consultation which the poor doctor is helpless about . So ask the most important questions and forgive him/her for not being too talkative because of the big queue outside
So in this era the onus is on the patients to make informed choices , take more active part in their illness including taking some responsibility for the bad outcomes . And exercise your choice wisely so that you yourself can collectively weed out the unethical ones from the real good ones ( there are many ) . And above all have realistic expectations especially since even today diseases dont respect neither the doctors nor their patients and doctors should be blamed only for their mistakes and not blame when the real culprit (the disease ) does its job .
"Reflecting on his career in medicine years later, Dr Michael Crichton concluded that patients too often shunned responsibility for their own health, relying on doctors as miracle workers rather than advisors . "...... And luckily we got the Jurassic Park novel and lots of others because of this decision . But we want a few of the good ones in the field to fight the deadly diseases .
Comments welcome
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