Bernard Lown, MD, professor Emeritus of cardiology at Harvard University School of Public Health
Does your doctor really care about you... or just treat you? As a doctor with more than 40 years of experience, I can tell you that a good doctor-patient relationship greatly reduces the anxiety you feel when you get sick. It also improves the likelihood you'll get the best possible care.
Here are 5 signs you've found a GOOD doctor...
If, upon arriving for your first appointment, you are led to an exam room and asked to disrobe, you're at a "patient mill" -- not a doctor's office
Your first meeting with a doctor should be in his private office -- while you are fully clothed! His or her initial goal should be to put you at ease. The best way to do that is with a few minutes of conversation. Shivering under a thin gown is not the way to start a healthy doctor-patient relationship.
A doctor may want you to think he's late because he's been with patients who are sicker than you... but that's rarely the case.
Consistent lateness is inevitably the result of poor management, overbooking, and/or arrogance -- an indifference to the time of others.
A good doctor shows respect for his or her patients by seeing them on time.
A doctor's mood influences not only a patient's emotional status, but also their medical outcomes. Words can either heal or harm, and a good doctor knows this.
Your doctor should be upbeat no matter what your condition. There's always something that can be done to help -- even if it's just to lessen your anxiety. I tell my patients that they no longer have to worry about their illness, because I'll be taking over that duty from now on.
75% of the information needed to make an accurate diagnosis comes from taking a careful and detailed patient history.
This makes sense. While a doctor may know a great deal about a particular illness, he knows little about how that illness manifests in you. Only you can reveal that, and only if he pays attention to waht you tell him.
Your doctor should ask detailed questions not only about your medical condition, but also about your work, social relationships, and any other aspects of your life that could be affecting your health. Taking a good medical history is the single most important sign of good doctoring.
Each time you leave your doctor's office, you should feel better emotionally, if not physically. You should feel that the doctor took your concerns seriously and answered all your questions.
The doctor should talk in terms you can understand, but you should never get the feeling you're being talked down to.
Mostly, you should have confidence in the doctor not just because of his expertise, but because he's another human being who has made a commitment to care for you.
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