HOW TO CHOOSE A DOCTOR WHO WILL LISTEN TO YOU
You always have a choice, even if your insurance requires you to see a particular physician. You may ask for another if the one you are assigned to does not meet your needs. You might switch to an insurance plan that gives you more choices in picking a doctor, even if it costs more. You can always pay yourself for the entire visit, just like most of the products and services we purchase.
If possible, you can set up an interview with
the physician to see if your ideas and philosophy are similar.
Ask if he
or she
is still passionate about being in a healing art. If that
is not possible, schedule a visit and see how it goes.
Be upfront
at the start and tell the doctor that part of the purpose
of the visit is to see if he is willing to listen to you
and your
ideas about what might be the problem.
Enlist the help of your family and friends and ask them.
Explain what kind of physician you would like and ask them
how the one
they have seen meets those requirements.
If your state medical board has information on malpractice claims or complaints against physicians, check this out for the doctors in your area. However, just because a physician has claims or complaints, it does not necessarily mean they are not right for you. Also check with the state board if the physician has a license with restrictions on it. It could mean drug or alcohol problems, psychiatric disease or lack of competence.
The best-intentioned doctor may be working in a system that makes it impossible for him or her to spend adequate time with you. If this is the case, consider finding a doctor in a small group or solo practice where each doctor can have more control over how to spend time with patients. Consider avoiding a physician that has too many patients. When you call for an appointment, ask how many active patients the doctor has, how long does it usually take to get seen for an urgent problem and how long is it before you can be seen as a new patient. Especially important is the amount of time allotted for a typical visit. If you have complex problems, a 10-minute visit will not work very well. A typical family medicine physician has about 2,000 patients. You should be able to get seen for an urgent problem in less than 2 weeks and in less than 2 months for a new patient appointment.
A doctor who is listening will usually do most of the following things. They sit down and make eye contact. They are more likely to let you tell your story at the start of the visit without interruptions. The questions they ask indicate they have heard what you said. They are not looking at their watch or otherwise seem distracted. If you do not agree with the proposed course of action outlined by the doctor, you need to speak up and say why (be as specific as possible). Listen very carefully to what the doctor says to see if he addresses your concerns. If this is an important issue to you and your appointment time is up, you should negotiate a mutual agreement as to what to do about the disagreement. You might ask your physician to research alternative approaches to your diagnosis or treatment. You can do the same. You can agree to disagree and still have a fruitful relationship. You can discuss the issue at the next appointment when you both have had more time to consider the issue.
If you find a doctor you like, it can be a problem if they have hospital privileges at a hospital you do not like due to past experience or poor reputation. Then the issue is how likely are you to be treated in that hospital as an inpatient. If you have advanced chronic disease and frequent hospitalizations are likely, you may choose to be cared for in another hospital by a different physician but remain with the one you like for outpatient management. You should discuss this in advance to be sure that your doctor agrees with this approach and that it is possible with your insurance. You would also benefit by a visit to the appropriate physician who would care for you in the hospital so they are familiar with you. In addition, if you have not established care with a specific physician, in a typical emergency hospitalization, you will be assigned an on call doctor through the emergency room. This will cause a several hour wait in the ER, increase your bill, and leave you at the mercy of a potentially overloaded physician.
It may take several tries, but if you persist you will likely find a physician who listens and cares. On the other side of the coin, you should listen to what your physician says and be sure you understand it. If not, ask more questions and/or do your own research until you do understand.
Daniel Blodgett MD