Top Patient Frustrations with the Medical Profession

What frustrates patients with the medical profession? What follows is not a scientific survey but merely my recollection of patient gripes over the years.

Why is my doctor always late?

Poor access to doctors and medical professionals. This vexes patients more than the other challenges that they endure. They simply cannot get in to see their doctors who are booked out for months. What good is having a great physician if his or her schedule is locked down? Sending these patients to an Urgent Care or an Emergency Room might be a convenient play by the doctors and staff, but this does not serve patents well.

Rushed office visits. I hear this all the time. I’m sure that I’ve been culpable of this offense at times myself. The doctor is running behind and is under pressure to move the visit along efficiently. But not all patients operate in this mechanized manner. They need time to collect their thoughts, and we should permit them to do so.

Communication lapses. Patient are irritated when their phone calls and electronic messages are not responded to.

The cost of pharmaceuticals. This is an open wound in the health care system. Other nations have figured it out, but not us.

A wanting bedside manner. Patients deserve empathy and they want to be heard. Good rapport is the connective tissue in the doctor-patient relationship. The return on investment here is enormous.

Inferior medical outcomes. Patients with persistent or worsening symptoms and chronic illnesses carry heavy physical and emotional burdens. Understandably, they may question the competence of their care although in many instances it's the disease's fault.

Billing issues. I can’t fully grasp my own medical bills and I’m in the business. Yet, we expect ordinary folks to navigate through this chamber of horrors?

Next week I’ll share how some of these issues are viewed through physicians' eyes.

Comments

Becoming a Part-Time Physician

Next month my schedule will change. I will henceforth be off on Fridays with my work week truncated to Monday through Thursday. I am excited to be enjoying a long weekend every weekend. And while the schedule change is relatively minor, this event does feel like an important career moment for me. It is the first step on a journey that will ultimately lead beyond my professional career. It is this recognition that makes this modest schedule modification more significant than one would think it deserves. As some readers know, my current employed position has been a dream job for me. Prior to this, I was in a small private practice, which I loved, but was much more challenging professionally and personally. My partner and I ran the business. Working nights, weekends and holidays were routine for decades. On an on-call night, if I slept through until morning, I felt as if I had won the lottery. And w...

When Should Doctors Retire?

I am asked with some regularity whether I am aiming to retire in the near term. Years ago, I never received such inquiries. Why now? Might it be because my coiffure and goatee – although finely-manicured – has long entered the gray area? Could it be because many other even younger physicians have given up their stethoscopes for lives of leisure? (Hopefully, my inquiring patients are not suspecting me of professional performance lapses!) Interestingly, a nurse in my office recently approached me and asked me sotto voce that she heard I was retiring. “Interesting,” I remarked. Since I was unaware of this retirement news, I asked her when would be my last day at work. I have no idea where this erroneous rumor originated from. I requested that my nurse-friend contact her flawed intel source and set him or her straight. Retirement might seem tempting to me as I have so many other interests. Indeed, reading and ...

Personal Responsibility for Health

One of the advantages of the computer era is that patients and physicians can communicate via a portal system. A patient can submit an inquiry which I typically respond to promptly. It also offers me the opportunity to provide advice or test results to patients. Moreover, the system documents that the patient has in fact read my message. Beyond the medical value, it also provides some legal protection if it is later alleged that ‘my doctor never sent me my results’. I have always endorsed the concept that patients must accept personal responsibility. Consider this hypothetical example. A patient undergoes a screening colonoscopy and a polyp is removed. The patient is told to expect a portal message detailing the results in the coming days. Once the analysis of the polyp has been completed, the doctor sends a message via the portal communicating that the polyp is benign, but is regarded as ‘precancerous'. The patient is advise...

MD Whistleblower

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