[NeuroNixed Craig]

I just happened across this information and felt it may be beneficial to many of us looking in from the other side as patients.

March 2011 Consumer Reports had an article what doc's wish their patents knew.

In it, it reported a survey of 660 primary care docs who had a lot to say about their professional challenges-about what patients could do to get the most out of their relationship with their doc's.

Some highlights of the article...

• Docs & patients put a high value on courtesy & professionalism.
• Patients aren't taking full advantage of strategies that doc's think are helpful. like taking notes during their visits.
• Not knowing much up front about a doc's personality or treatment style was a real obstacle for patients in search of a good match.

Some of the headings in the article...

Doc's take the long view(doc's say that forming a long-term relationship with a primary care doc is the most important thing a patient can do to obtain better medical care, with 76% saying it would help very much.

Respect is a two way street. 70% said that since they had started practicing medicine, respect & appreciation from patients has gotten a little or much worse.

Please take your medicine--most said it affected their ability to provide optimal care. but some patient its not just non compliance, its disorganization,side affects, don't fully understand the treatment or what they are suppose to do. Doc's need to make these issues safe for a patient to bring up.

Pain is tough to treat doc's were harder on themselves about this issue than were patients only 37% of doc's thought they were very effective but 60% thought they were somewhat effective. 79% of patients thought their docs helped to minimize their discomfort.

The discrepancy is thought to be because patients were only thinking about their own condition where doc's were thinking about all their patients, including the ones with chronic conditions that were difficult to treat.

It helps to keep track your self they want you to know it helps to keep track of your medical history yourself. 89% said keeping an informal log of treatments,drugs, changes in condition,note from previous visits, test & procedures can be helpful.

But only 33% of patients routinely do so.
and 80% of doc's thought taking a a friend or relative to your office visit could be beneficial but only 28% of patients did.

Research online, but carefully 61% of patients were very enthusiastic about online research. 61% reported they read about their condition online first. Doc's were less convinced online research was helpful. almost half those surveyed said it helps very little or not at all. Just 8% thought it very helpful.

Docs are pressed for time doc's said with the sheer volume of insurance paperwork was #1 on their list of things that interfere with their ability to provide optimal treatment. Next was financial pressures that may force them to work more than 50 hours per week seeing about 100 patients. That doesn't mean you should be satisfied with hasty care. Patients who perceived they were being rushed were less satisfied with their care & were--thought symptoms were dismissed & were uncertain what to do after the visit.

You can't do much about it, but be aware of burdensome health care rules by reading through your policy and understanding your health care coverage.

Doc's talk to drug salespeople they talk to drug companies more than you realize. Majority of docs surveyed said pharmaceutical reps contacted them at lest 10 times a month. 36% said they were contacted more than 20 times a month.

Doc's are skeptical of a patient's need to know about malpractice claims or professional disciplinary actions 47% said its of little value to a patient to know. 17% said the actions by medical licensing board was very valuable.

To find your state's medical board at the federation of state & medical board website at... www.fsmb.org or try your state health department.