Are you guilty of making these 5 mistakes with your doctor?

Are you a good patient?

As the health care debate rages on, we continue to look at ways individuals can take charge of their own health and become our own best health care advocates.

The doctor-patient relationship is the cornerstone of patient-centered, compassionate medicine — but only if both doctors and patients take responsibility for their role and cooperate in the best of interest of the patient.

Most patients can come up complaints about doctors and doctors’ offices, but do you make some of these common mistakes with your doctor?

1 – Do you fail to clearly state the problem… and leave out important details, expecting the doctor to figure it out? The time allotted with the doctor is often very limited. Make good use of your time by communicating your concerns clearly. Doctors are mere humans, with no extra talent for mind reading.

2 – Do you play loose with the facts… by saying that you don’t drink or smoke when you actually do… or that you take the medicine as prescribed even though you don’t? It’s embarrassing to admit that our diet isn’t as good as it should be or that we don’t really exercise, but lying to the doctor is not in our own best interest. We entrust our doctors with our health, but we can’t expect to get the full benefit of their knowledge and experience unless we tell the truth — no matter how uncomfortable it may be. Your doctor has little choice but to trust what you say.

3 – Do you come to visits unprepared… not knowing the names and dosages of any medications you are currently taking… not being able to say when and where the problem began… It doesn’t take long to jot down a few key facts on a piece of paper that you can bring to doctor visits. When you are unprepared, you tend to take up more time unnecessarily, contributing to the wait times of other patients, and you are more often apt to leave with questions unanswered.

4 – Do you fail to ask follow-up questions … such as what are the potential side effects or drug interactions of prescribed medication… when and how can you expect results of tests… warning signs… next steps…

5 – Do you take a passive role rather than an active role… by waiting for your doctor to mention something and, if he doesn’t, letting it go? It’s your health we’re talking about here. If you think a second opinion is in order, ask for one. If you wonder about an alternative to the recommended treatment, ask about it. If your doctor doesn’t treat you with respect and compassion or does not encourage you to be an active participant in your own health care decisions, it’s time to find a new doctor.

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are not doing all you can to foster patient-centered, compassionate care — but these problems are easy to fix. If you are doing your part, then you need a doctor who will do the same. If you’ve got that, you’re in pretty good shape.

Check out my previous post on the same topic: What Happened to Patient-Centered, Compassionate Medicine?

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Photo: U.S. Centers of Disease Control

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Mervi R.

11:31AM PST on Dec 26, 2009

Thanks for the tips, have probably been guilty of one or two in the past, evethough haven´t had to go to the doctor for a while, fortunately.

send a green star

Verria K.

10:56AM PST on Dec 10, 2009

Ensure a good patient/doctor relationship by looking for the right clues when selecting a doctor. Doing so will let you know immediately if your doctor is interested in being your partner, which will save a lot of time in the long run. I was very sick about 15 years ago and saw over 10 doctors before I found the right one....huge waste of time, not to mention the fact that my condition worsened because I couldn't find the right doctor. Thanks for bringing this to light Ann!

Heather A.

3:27PM PST on Dec 7, 2009

Those are good tips. My dad used to write down a list of questions I needed to ask the doctor before sending me into the office. It was a good idea, because it's easy to completely forget most of what you need to say when you are being put on the spot by a hurried physician.

Patric P. - good point! If I am ever prescribed medication, I will be sure to ask the doctor what it's called and write it down somewhere to make sure they give me the right stuff at the pharmacy. Thank you for that.

Catman P.

2:48PM PST on Dec 4, 2009

Great information - Thanks.

Steve W.

4:03AM PST on Dec 4, 2009

I remember going to the doctors with my mom when I was around the age of five. She had this awful cough she couldn't shake. Anyway, she swore blind that she didn't smoke, in spite of her sounding like a Labrador every time she coughed, and having that "just-smoked" haddock smell smokers get when they've nipped behind the building for a quick nicotine fix before actually going into the doctor's waiting room. Most people try to cleanse themselves before going to see a doctor. My mother tried to build a barrier of toxins.

When asked, did she drink, she replied, "The odd one, every now and again," as the whiskey bottles in her shopping bag gave a conspicuous "clink" at her feet.

I think the only question she did respond truthfully to was, perhaps, her name and maybe her address.

Anyway, as we were exiting, I always remember her tutting and rolling her eyes at the doctor's bafflement over her case. "Useless," she'd say, "Couldn't diagnose a fish with being wet."

No wonder, though. She couldn't have made it any harder for him unless she'd have made him take her complaint while wing-walking during a lightning storm.

Ah, the waste of money, time, and my mother's good health aside, it was all good fun. And this was a great article!

lina b.

1:48AM PST on Dec 4, 2009

I usually make a list of symptoms/complaints. This helps me because the white coat syndrome sometimes takes effect even when you don't realize it and you get nervous/go blank and forget.

Ann P.

10:44AM PST on Dec 3, 2009

Patrick P: Excellent point! Thank you for reminding us all of a simple thing that can go horribly wrong.

Katarzyna B.

10:34AM PST on Dec 3, 2009

Thank you, useful article!

John C.

9:33AM PST on Dec 3, 2009

I am with Jennifer on this one!
In the last ten tears or so I really got into medicine, studied for my EMT (didn't get to finish because of a death in the family) and now do plenty of research before and after going to the doctor.
It is rare to find a doctor that is not intimidated by the fact that a reasonably intelligent being with some internet savvy can become far more informed on a disease, it's treatment, the really useful drugs (not the ones the medical machine is peddling at the moment) than they are... And all in a night or two worth of studying.
They really love it when you speak their language to boot, but it does speed the conversation greatly when you say, "I feel a lot of pain and burning along the path of the sciatic nerve" rather than "my butt hurts here, and the pain then goes here, and here and here, and then here, oh and it burns too!"
If they cop the attitude, "they already know it all, why bother" they do nothing to help you, or just prescribe drugs, which is what they usually do anyhow because that makes $$$ for "big pharma" and keeps us all sick.
Seems you have to be really lucky to find someone who gives a darn and will work with you to formulate a diagnosis and treatment plan that is a means towards a cure for the cause of the illness.
Just my .02
Sorry for the rant, but I have been through the ringer several times and have some permanent damage from this stuff :-(