I so often hear from both patients and doctors that they are frustrated with the communications process. Doctors feel like patients aren’t understanding them, and patients feel like their doctors are in too big a hurry to listen to them.

I did a bit of an analysis, got in touch with some of the doctors and patients I deal with fairly regularly, and was finally able to put together some basics for improving these communications – in hopes of making the process more efficient, effective and satisfactory for both patients and their health care providers.

Let’s try to understand the problem first. The big problem is NOT that doctors don’t want their patients to understand them. And it’s NOT that patients don’t have the ability to understand what their doctors say. Instead, it’s a question of time – the time that is devoted to appointments.

You, as the patient, make an appointment with your doctor and what you expect is that your doctor will be able to examine you, explain your diagnosis, or your progress, or your lack of progress in treatment – or an upcoming test – whatever your appointment is for, you expect the information will be shared thoroughly –

Only to find that when you have the appointment, somebody else, usually a nurse, is taking care of all the basics, then your doctor drops in, spends a few minutes with you, then exits – while you are left with questions, perhaps some confusion, and plenty of frustration.

The patients I hear from target their frustration to their doctors, but if you think it’s your doctor’s fault you are frustrated – you are probably shooting at the wrong target. The problem is much more likely to be your insurance or Medicare or whoever is paying for your appointment – THAT is who dictates how much time your doctor can spend.

Many doctors, if left to their own scheduling, would spend as much time as possible with you to make sure you understand and comply. But, if they did that all the time, for every patient, then they would quickly be out of business. When they do that – and many do – they do it on their own time, at the expense of insurance reimbursements, which is what keeps their practices open.

Let me explain this another way: suppose you work for an hourly wage – many of you do or did before you retired – you know you must work 40 hours each week to pay your bills. Now, all of a sudden, your boss is asking you to work 10 extra hours – but you won’t get paid for it. Either that, or he asks you to keep working those 40 hours, but you’ll only get paid for 30 of them. Does that sound fair? Are you willing to do either?

When your doctor spends more than 10 or 15 minutes with you, that’s what you are asking him to do – work those extra hours for free.

Is that fair? Would YOU be willing to do so?

So that’s my first tip about communications – understand why your appointments seem so brief and why your doctor may seem rushed.

Don’t EXPECT your doctor to spend more – and plan accordingly.

If your doctor does spend more than that allotted time with you – then thank him – because he’s doing that out of the kindness of his heart, on his own time.

Next Tip >>>

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Master List of Tips in the Managing Patient Expectations Series:

1. Learn why your appointments seem so brief.  Understand your doctor's point of view.
2. Ask questions of other professionals in the office.
3. Manage your own expectations by continually asking, "What happens next?"
4. When you are sent for medical tests, ask what the doctor expects, or doesn't expect to learn.
5. Make sure you are aware of all possible treatment options, not just the ones your doctor gives you.
6. Consider getting a second opinion if or when it is warranted.
7. List pros and cons of your treatment options.
8. Don't be intimidated!  And learn to ask what difficult words mean.

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Trisha Torrey is Every Patient’s Advocate^TM.
She offers no medical advice, but empowers those who
want to learn more about diagnosis and treatment options by
providing useful tools and resources.