Things change...
Things change. When I
was growing up, doctors were... well, revered is a good word.
Everyone respected doctors. When the doctor told you to "take your medicine," you did it, without ever
even thinking about why.
It's not cliché to say that things were simpler then; it's just a fact. There were far fewer medications, fewer specialists. What we're finding now is that it's also true that many illnesses and diseases went undiagnosed and untreated. Migraine disease and many headache disorders are among those. With advancements in medical science and technology has come a proliferation of tests, medications, and specialties. Doctors have more and more to learn, yet medical school and internships only last so long.
What else has changed? The patient. We're bombarded with health stories in the media. We're learning that the answers aren't always our doctors' responsibility. Patients today have more information available to us than ever before, at least in part because of the Internet. We're able to learn about illnesses and diseases, medications, and much more.
The patient has become a consumer, a customer of health care services. The Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines a consumer as, "one that utilizes economic goods," and a customer as, "one that purchases a commodity or service." The Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary defines a patient as, "a client for medical service." This new role of the patient leads me to ask a question. When you go shopping, would you continue to shop in a store where you're dissatisfied with the product or the attitude of the sales associates? I think not. Why? Because we don't spend our hard earned dollars on unsatisfactory products or bad customer service. Thus, when we consider that a patient is a consumer, a customer of health care services, I would propose that if we aren't receiving the medical care we feel we need, it's time to purchase those health care services elsewhere.
Patients are also employers. We employ our doctors and other health care professionals. If you're an employer, you'll be following this thought easily. If not, let's take the example of hiring a housekeeper. We may look in the phone book and hire a housekeeper. We entrust a housekeeper with the precious possessions in our homes, so we probably check references. The housekeeper is accountable to us, not the other way around. If the job isn't getting done, we fire them. Why should it be any different with health care providers? It's not our precious possessions we're placing their hands, but our lives, literally. It's not just our prerogative, but our responsibility to hire the doctor we feel most qualified to handle our care and fire him or her if our expectations aren't met. Obviously, that's not to say that we have the right to be unreasonable or disrespectful.
We often hesitate to change doctors because we feel it indicates failure. We don't like confrontation or just don't feel up to any conflict when we're already not feeling well. When a doctor/patient relationship doesn't work, it's not necessarily a sign of failure. No doctor can be the right doctor for every patient. Certainly, if a doctor just doesn't have the experience and training to handle a particular case, they're not the right doctor for that patient. But there are other circumstances under which excellent doctors may not be the right doctor for us.
"Hiring" and "firing" doctors...
We're asking more questions about doctors before we make that first appointment.
We're also asking our doctors more questions. Many doctors appreciate educated
patients. Studies have shown that educated patients are more compliant with
their treatment regimens.1 At that first appointment, there are
questions we can ask to help us know if it's going to be a good match. For some
of these questions, see our
Guide
To Visiting a New Doctor.
If you have to "fire" a doctor, keep it simple. You don't have to say anything at all to the doctor. You can just go to a new doctor and ask them to get your medical records transferred. If you do want to say something to the doctor, it can be something as simple as, "This just isn't working out well. Thank you for your time."
Summary...
Ultimately, we are each responsible for our own health. In a good
doctor/patient relationship, the doctor doesn't make decisions for
us, the doctor makes decisions with us. The relationship has to be
one of mutual respect. Find a doctor whom you can respect and who will respect
you. We deserve nothing less.
>>for a more detailed version of this article, click HERE.<<
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Sources:
1 Rothrock, John Farr, Parada, Victoria A., Sims, Cheryl, Key, Kristin, Walters, Naomi S. & Zweifler, Richard M. (2006) "The Impact of Intensive Patient Education on Clinical Outcome in a Clinic-Based Migraine Population." Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain 46 (5), 726-731. doi: 10.1111/j.1526-4610.2006.00428.x
