In the local paper, there was a letter to the editor regarding a recent article about how doctors now see patients for an average of seven minutes about how “Many patients, particularly elderly ones, are timid around doctors. A hospital social worker told me of the great number of unnecessary operations performed on patients too frightened of a doctor’s disapproval to say no.”
This comment, which was probably true, made me a bit angry. If your doctor tells you that you need an operation, who are you to say no? I.e., who’s the doctor here? This comment makes it sound like these scared little old ladies are buying snake oil at the behest of their doctors, when actually, this is the situation of any patient.
The whole system, unfortunately, is an information-management system that works against you the patients. The doctors have all the knowledge, but they don’t always have your best interests at heart–there’s their careers, cost-management, the number of patients (which often makes harried doctors just do anything to get you out of the office faster), and so on.
My own rule of thumb now is, research your care at least as much as you’d research a new car purchase. A good doctor won’t mind if you ask questions, nor should she mind if you seek a second opinion. Getting more info off the internet is not crazy, but prudent–but take a look at exactly what the sources are.
And, again, knowledge is power. If you can find others in your similar health situation, whether it be infertility, cancer, allergies–see what works for other people. Then maybe with this help you can cut down on “unnecessary” procedures.
Related posts:
