Building a Strong Doctor-Patient Relationship

With some regularity, a patient will contact my office and demand a prompt call back. While the patient may be understandably preoccupied with the issue at hand, in most cases there is no medical urgency present.  I take my customer service responsibility seriously.  In fact, with rare exceptions, before the end of every work day, I or my staff have contacted every patient who has reached out to us. 

The system works best when all parties are being reasonable and considerate.  Patients have told me over the years of rude treatment they have received from staff as well as medical professionals.  I believe that this does happen and it is inexcusable.  Medical professionals and staff must maintain decorum and high standards even when challenged.  When patients relate these anecdotes, I do not challenge them but I am aware that there may be competing versions of what transpired.

Patients also have a responsibility to tend the doctor-patient relationship.  There are times when patients need to dial it back.  Here’s a vignette that I have witnessed many times  A patient comes 45 minutes late to an early morning appointment with me for a non-urgent issue.  The receptionist informs me that the patient is irate when told that he will need to reschedule.  At times, I choose to approach the patient personally to explain and to deescalate.  I advise that we need to reschedule him as it would not be fair to the 15 or so patients not yet seen all of whom would be kept waiting.  One would think that this explanation would be sufficient, but this is not always the case.

We physicians work hard to provide close personal attention as best we can.  But we are working in an imperfect system and we are human beings.  Our days are often beyond full even before you call us or send us a message with a concern.  In a typical week, I may have a hundred individual tasks and messages to address in addition to my actual patient care responsibilities.  There are numerous messages from patients, biopsy and lab results to review and then send to patients, pharmacy issues that demand my attention, requests and notifications from medical practitioners, outside medical records to review, dozens of e-mails from my employer and covering responsibilities at times for an out-of-town colleague.

I am not suggesting patients refrain from reaching out to their medical professionals.  But consider what your doctor’s day may be like and if your demand for a prompt call back us reasonable.   A few days before writing this, a patient called because a medicine prescribed 3 days prior had not yet alleviated her symptoms when she had been advised in the office of the expected therapeutic time course.

Does your concern truly warrant a prompt call back?

In a perfect world, which is not our planet, every patient (and physician) would enjoy concierge care with long, relaxed office visits, same day or next day appointments,  access to the physician’s cell phone and house calls upon request. 

We’re all doing the best we can.  We can’t meet every expectation.  Lower priority issues merit lower priority attention. Physicians and patients share responsibility to make the system work smoother.  Let’s give each other a little slack and a measure of grace.  The doctor-patient relationship, like any relationship, needs to be nurtured by both parties. When this partnership is strong, everyone wins.

 Editor’s Note: For 16 years, I've published weekly essays here on Blogspot, which will continue. I’ve now begun publishing my work on a new blogging platform, Substack, and I hope you’ll join me there. Please enter your email address at this link to receive my posts directly to your inbox.