LEARN INSURANCE

It's quite interesting to see the attitude some doctors still have towards educating their patients

I just met a friend who is now a senior gynecologist. He told he that he preferred not to provide his patients with information. " I just tell them what I think they need to know ! Otherwise, they ask too many questions and it takes me too much time to explain. It's much easier for me if I just go ahead and treat them - after all, I am the expert ! It's also better for my patients. With too much information, they get confused and do not know what to do ! It's best if I keep it simple - and this way, I can see more patients as well !"

Most doctors got away with this paternalistic attitude for many years - but this was many years ago, , when all the medical knowledge was locked up in medical books and journals which patients could not access or understand.

However, times have changed. Medical information is now freely available on the net - and a smart, determined patient can easily learn as much as he wants about his problem . The truth is that patients have always had and will always have questions about their medical treatment - it's just that some doctors are not empathetic enough to realise this. This is why they lose their patients to other doctors who take a proactive approach towards addressing their patient's queries !

If patients do not get answers from their doctor, they will find answers from somewhere else. And if another doctor provides these, they are quite likely to go to the other doctor.

When doctors do not answer their patients questions, they do both their patients and themselves a disservice. Patients are forced to search for information on their own, and they often find unreliable information from poor quality websites. This misinformation can actually make the doctor's life even harder because he then has to spend a lot of time helping the patient to get rid of their misconceptions.

This is why doctors need to prescribe information - and the best way of doing this is by creating your own website and dispensing information through this !

Many patients find that the doctor you go to for a second opinion will often be very critical of the first doctor. When a new doctor criticises what the old one did, patients feel frustrated, because they feel it reflects badly on their choice of a doctor.

Why are doctors so happy to criticise their colleagues and peers at the drop of a hat ?

Some of this is simply a power game. Doctors do their best to try to look good for their patients, and by demonstrating the errors and shortcomings of the earlier doctors, they are emphasising how much good they are ! The hidden subtext is - You made the right decision when you came to me - I am the best !

Some of this is simple oneupmanship. Doctors are highly competitive and proud of their intellectual prowess and surgical skills. They take delight in highlighting the shortcomings of their peers, because this reinforces their belief that they are the best ! Medical students have always been competitive, and this immature streak persists , no matter how much they age !

Some doctors will do this as a subtle form of marketing, to cater to the patient's desire. When patients come for a second opinion, they want something new, something different ! Smart doctors are happy to comply , because this tactic offers their patients with new hope, and helps them to justify their consultation fees !

Thus, some doctors will order additional tests ( and the more expensive these are the better ! The really smart ones will say that the tests have to be sent abroad to a highly specialised lab , adding to their aura of omniscience ! ). Others will change the prescription ( often writing exactly the same drug, but with a different brand name , so it costs a lot more, or has to be "imported" !)

Unfortunately, this kind of critical approach has a backlash. For one, patients start believing that doctors are incompetent , and cannot be trusted. This will lead to more lawsuits in the future.
Even worse, remember your friend will return the favour when he gets a chance to do so !

Few doctors have the maturity to say - Yes, your doctor has done a good job and you are on the right track. Please go back to him !