The Declining State of Doctor-Patient Relationships

The Trust Factor

After reading the New York Times article entitled: "Doctor and Patient, Now at Odds", I thought I would explore the issue of the Doctor-Patient relationship. The meat and potatoes of this article basically takes a look at the idea that people today are becoming less and less satisfied with their experiences at the doctor's office, and research seems to suggest that one of the big issues here has to do with a lack of trust. This article indicates that many patients today are reluctant to trust their doctor for a variety of reasons, which range from people's increasing tendency to seek out online medical advice to the fact that many people are reporting the fact that they feel as though today's physicians seem to be diagnosing patients as quickly as possible in order to promptly get them in and out of the office. Issues such as these are making patients feel as though they are being put at risk by their doctors, or simply aren't getting the type of personal attention that they would like when at the doctor's office, and the resulting distrust between doctor and patient seems to be giving people the feeling that doctors are not doing all that they can, or that they simply don't care enough about their patients to try. Taking these issues into consideration, it's easy to see why people today are beginning to feel dissatisfied by their interactions with physicians.

What Can be Done to Fix The Problem?

While I can identify with the feeling that I'm being rushed at the doctor's office, or that the doctor simply doesn't care, I think that a little bit of understanding on both ends of the doctor-patient dynamic could go a long way towards improving relationships.
I can understand people wanting to feel like they are important when they visit the doctor's office, and I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Having said that, I think that in some cases patients are expecting far to much from physicians in this regard. The sad but true fact of the matter is that doctors are people just like you and I, and the vast majority of these people-while exceedingly well-educated, have had little to no training when it comes to people skills. While I will agree that it is really nice to feel like you have a personal connection with your physician, I personally don't really expect my doctor to hold my hand or tell me how pretty I look when I come in for a check up. These people are not trained to be personable or polite, and in my personal experience I would say that many of them can be just as socially awkward or rude as any other random person you might run into on the street. If you happen to have a doctor like this yourself, I would say that the first order of business would be to find yourself a better doctor. I think most of us would love to have a doctor who we enjoy spending time with and who we feel that we can open up to, and they are certainly out there. We just have to be more proactive as patients about seeking them out. I also feel that we as patients need to try and understand the fact that today's physician is more pressed for time than ever before, and often does not have the option of spending unnecessary amounts of time small-talking with every patient. If you are feeling rushed in and out, and believe me- I know how you feel, It probably isn't personal. Doctor's today are often pushed to be quick and efficient, and that often comes at the expense of the doctor-patient dynamic.
As I mentioned previously, the next big issue that seems to be adversely affecting the doctor-patient relationship involves patients trying to self-diagnose before they enter the doctor's office. I am guilty of this at times myself, and the fact that it is incredibly easy to jump online and find any number of idiots who think they are the next Doogie Howser (that's right; I took it there...) tossing out bogus medical advice isn't helping the situation. What results from this is the patient walking in to the doctor's office feeling as though they know just as much as the physician, and in the event that these two diagnosis' conflict, many times negative feelings and distrust can ensue. I don't know about any of you, but in the event that a battle of wits erupts between an internet random who has trouble constructing a legible sentence and a man or woman who has been studying the inner workings of the human body for at least the better part of a decade, I know who I'm taking advice from every time. While I'm not saying that doctors are always right, I find it crazy to think that people will often go as far as not taking their prescribed medications because they conflict with advice they've seen on the internet forums.
Honestly, I can certainly identify with the feeling that I'm being rushed, or my doctor just doesn't care much about me at all, and it's not a great feeling to have to be sure. Furthermore, many of us don't have the option to go out and seek out the best, brightest, or most polite doctor in town, and I understand that quite well. Having said that, I also feel that patients might need to lower their expectations a bit when it comes to the doctor-patient relationship, and try to understand that not every physician is going to be an absolute delight, and many of these physicians are being rushed to get through as many patients as possible every day. If you feel like your doctor doesn't care about you, or simply isn't a very nice guy or gal, it most likely isn't anything personal. Until medical education practices change drastically in a way that places more emphasis on the social aspects of the doctor-patient relationship, I don't really see things changing in that regard. Doctors are people just like the rest of us, and by god some of them are just assholes. I guess the best we can do in this case as patients is to simply seek out a physician we can talk to and learn to trust, and for the love of god PLEASE DON'T LISTEN TO DOOGIE!!! I'm fairly certain he hasn't even been to medical school...