What are some of the obstacles that prevent you from effectively communicating with your physician? If you have not experienced any problems, tell us what your physician is doing to make the communication you enjoy possible. If communicating with your physician leaves much to be desired, how could it be improved?
I have one doctor who is so focused on being right he doesn’t hear me very well. It’s frustrating trying to tell him what is and isn’t working with medications. Or trying to tell him of new symptoms. He talks over me or ignores what I’m saying. Sometimes he tells me I”m wrong when I”m telling him of new symptoms or medication He”s prescribed when the proof is in my file!!! I stick with him because of one problem I have he treats that none of my other doc”s know how to treat.
I like my doctor and she listens and discusses my symptoms and problems. She never makes me feel rushed and discusses all options available. On the down side, she is a loud talker and I can hear every word she says to the patient in the room next to me and the next patient hears every word she says to me. She is not elderly but I think she may have a lot of elderly patients. I don’t know how to tell her and I’m surprised she hasn’t been approached by her partners because this seems to be a breach of the privacy laws.
I have the opposite problem. My primary care doctor listens to my concerns but then asks me what I want done about them. I’m thinking, “You’re the doctor, you tell me!” There has got to be some middle ground between the know-it-all doctor and the pushover, where the doctor listens to the patient and a discussion occurs to determine the best course of action.
They are so abrupt and fast they won’t let you get a word in anyway. The final straw for me was when I wrote down my questions thinking it would help. Well, he glanced at them, and then threw it in the trash!!! He lost a patient that day!!!!
Our doctor has nailed diagnoses which saved my husband’s life. He does take time to talk with us even about non-medical issues. I feel he is getting to know all aspects about us socially as well as medically. We see an acupuncturist as well but I get the feeling that he doesn’t appreciate that even though there has been improvement with the alternative medicine. The acupuncturist we see is also a medical doctor. That strengthens my faith in what she does for us. One treatment saved me from surgery. I cannot dump the traditional medicine because of many other serious issues but we will continue with the Chinese medicine as well. Can’t argue with results!
More than once in my life doctors have dismissed my pain as exaggerated. For ten months I complained of pain in my groin that only got worse. I could not sleep. I had trouble walking. It was not until another doctor ordered a MRI that they found a tumor that had wrapped around my hip and cracked the bone. Since it was sitting “inside” the hip it could not be felt from the outside. I was Stage III-NHL. I am still angry that the doctor dismissed my complaint and that I did not seek a second opinion sooner.
I show up early to my appointments to fill out any paperwork, and often wait an hour beyond my original appointment. By the time I get in, the doctor is clearly rushed, so that hurts any chance of real communication. Especially when I waited an hour for the first appointment of the day!