Eliciting the Patient’s Agenda: Analysis of Recorded Clinical Encounters [pdf]
The fundamental problem I see is that doctors treat patients as threats to be managed: They will take too much time, they might sue, they will misinform you, they tire you out (per another comment). That&#x27;s not a healthy attitude and it doesn&#x27;t lead to productive relationships.<p>My experience with doctors is that they are unprofessional: Their communication skills are poor, causing potentially dangerous misconceptions (someone mentioned a secret 5 minute rule; what if critical info is in the 6th minute?), and a lack of understanding on my part (they barely listen so they don&#x27;t know the question and therefore don&#x27;t answer it); they are disrespectful, often treating patients like mentally challenged children (5 minutes and that&#x27;s it, and we won&#x27;t tell you there&#x27;s a time limit), have no regard for patients&#x27; time[0], and won&#x27;t return phone calls or emails; they are often sloppy and often unprepared, which I know from personal experience[1] and from the fact that hospital errors are a leading cause of death (at least in the U.S.).<p>Doctors behave as if they are the only ones challenged by constrained time, by communicating with clients, and by weariness at the end of the day. But every other profession, from lawyers to accountants to IT consultants, has the same problems and deals with it. My lawyers and accountants master communication skills, respect clients, and are productive. I want to say: Grow up, be a professional, I don&#x27;t give f- that you&#x27;re tired and busy, so am I. Every other profession manages.<p>[0] I&#x27;m busy too; I have people waiting for me too; how about if I make you sit around for an hour in the middle of your day? Doctors commonly schedule patients to come before the doctor will be ready, to make sure the doctor doesn&#x27;t have to wait - as if their time is more important than mine. They fall behind schedule every day, making patients wait - after the third day, you learn and adjust your schedule; after three years, it&#x27;s just complete disrespect for patients&#x27; time. One doctor I had to see regularly for awhile would schedule me at 8:15 and wander in at 8:45 with a bagel, coffee, and reading the news. Another schedules his entire day at the same time in the morning, and patients just sat around the waiting room all day; after 2 hours, I asked others and the nurse, found out what was going on (and that it was his standard procedure), and left; the woman waiting for hours in a wheelchair with an oxygen tank and nurse apparently didn&#x27;t have that option.<p>[1] Just off the top of my head: Seeing a doctor for a second opinion on a serious back problem. When the doctor walked in, opened the file, and started reading, I told myself she was just refreshing herself. Her advice was for the wrong problem in the wrong part of my back; when I tried to tell her, she didn&#x27;t listen and when she finally realized it, she just tried to cover for herself.