http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1681838,00.ht ml?iid=feed-health_ad
This article in Time caught my eye. Mostly I think we here in the forum tend to be the self-educating type who demand a lot from our doctors, and with our conditions, I believe we should be this way. However, reading this article made me think about what the doctors may be hearing when they see us (even if it's not specifically about googling their credentials), and what that does to the care they give us.
Good article, the first of its type I've seen. Some doctors hate it that patients can research so much on the internet. I was wondering how my doctor felt about it when I said, "Yes, I like to do a lot of research. Maybe that's not always a good thing." I was expecting him to say something like, "True, a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing." But he said, "No, it's good to be informed." I think my RD is lacking in some ways, but at least he's not threatened by my research. I wonder about doctors who are. I don't think doctors are threatened by research, I think they are tired of the patients who have already diagnosed themselves. Before the internet these patients would say "this is exactly what my aunt flo had" . Until a full picture of signs and symptoms, tests, lab results, consultations and a physical and history are complete any diagnosis is at best a "guess".It's an imperfect world both for the physicians and the patients. Being a nurse my relationship is quite different with my doctors but even then I have to stop them and ask them to explain sometimes.
They take it for granted that I know exactly what they're talking about and sometimes I don't.
If I were a physician I'd much rather have a practice full of patients who educate themselves about their medical issues. You at least have a basis to build a doctor/patient relationship.
The patient he is describing is impossible and should be referred to another physician. You can call it patient dumping or whatever you wish, but sometimes personalities don't click and you know it right from the beginning. Lindy
educating is one thing being obnoxious is something totally different. And the woman in the story was beyond obnoxious.
We always tend to blame the doctor when someone has a bad experience but sometimes we have to look at ourselves. It is always interesting to hear from the other side and learn how NOT to present yourself to a doctor
If you go back thru and read this by putting quotes around the description - this guy is an jerk extraordinaire! Patients are 'bozo's', can't read more than a headline, selfish, crappy mothers, etc. etc, etc. - unless they are trusting, teachable, or laugh at his jokes. Sorry, this is the most egotistical, sexist drivel I've read in a long time.
Pip
It's all about interpetation and perspective, isn't it...I didn't get that from the article at all Pip...Researching your symptoms, options etc is one thing. Researching your doctor to the extent this woman did is stalking. I think doctors appreciate a patient who has some knowledge of their condition, options, what the meds do, how important the physio is. Patients who self diagnose can be impossible to deal with if the doctor has different ideas. Patients who don't know where or what their body parts and organs are,or what their medications are for or how they work are just as impossible because they can't seem to grasp the importance of treatment. I see this everyday at work, both sides, those that tell the doctor what they have and those that don't know their elbow from their ***. Either way they are difficult to treat because if they don't like what the doctor says they will just go to another one til they find someone who agrees with them, or they will just be non compliant.
I can see where he is coming from.
I agree, Katie. Went out of his way to be way too hard on the poor kid. He seemed more annoyed by that than the googling.Amazing how we interpret. I did not think the dr was rude at all. The patient was certainly someone I would not want to deal with.......even in the waiting room.
Reminds me of a woman I had to sit next to in an infusion room for 8 hours..............she was on her 6th RD and after all her stories I was feeling really sorry for my doc.
{ window.open = SymWinOpen; if(Si don't think the issue in this article was that the woman was a googler..it was she was being obnoxious. It defeats the purpose if a patient turns off the doctor to the point that he/she won't treat them. The level of knowledge of the patient has nothing to do with how they present themselves.
When someone has seen numberous doctors and has problems with each and every one of them you do start to wonder about what they are doing and saying in their enounters with the doctors.
Where I get treated patient education and empowerment is very encouraged. Of course no one should be obnoxious to their healthcare workers, but there's a difference between being educated and being obnoxious. Google is our friend.I google *everything* and I've diagnosed myself with all diseases A-Z. It's amazing that I've survived this long. Wowee!!
t's definitely the first place I usually go if something is amiss though. There's a wealth of information available, but I always turn to the doc for the best answers.
This patient did come across as obnoxious to me and I felt bad for the doc. Even with all the info on the internet, you can't go to your doctor feeling you know it all. I can see where the doc would be turned off by that. Heck, I'd be annoyed if I went to school and knew the ins and outs of something specific and someone came in with a "know-it-all" type attitude. I mean, if you already know all the answers, why are you asking me?? [QUOTE=crispy]
Amazing how we interpret. I did not think the dr was rude at all. The patient was certainly someone I would not want to deal with.......even in the waiting room.
Reminds me of a woman I had to sit next to in an infusion room for 8 hours..............she was on her 6th RD and after all her stories I was feeling really sorry for my doc.
[/QUOTE]I didn't think the dr. was rude at all. Quite the opposite for the patient, I thought she was crazy. AND, the kid was a brat.
I think patients are doing a disservice to themselves if they don't do research and go to appts with some type of knowledge. You have to be your own advocate and what better way to do that then with knowledge!!!
Phats
After hearing about Kanye West's mom's doctor...well, maybe it is good to google their credentials and public records, you know? He had several pending malpractice suits and DUIs, from what I saw on the news yesterday. It seems like somebody like him should crawl under a rock, not keep taking high profile patients.