Tramp on the holy ground of patient confidence and you will reap the vengeance of an intolerant soul. Can the success of a doctors medical career be determined by the few minutes theyre with a new patient in the exam room? Absolutely!

Some doctors havent a clue!

What a shameful day it was for this physician who accompanied his wife to her consult appointment with the Rheumatologist. It wasnt the quality of advice that he gave. It wasnt the attention he gave to the problem. It wasnt the compassion he showed for the suffering that the patient was having.

It all had to do with attitude. Non-verbal communication is often more powerful than words. The shame comes when a doctors peer (another doctor) witnesses the recoil of the patient. Either the doctors sense of what was happening to the patient in those few minutes didnt matter to him, or he didnt care!

Consider these offenses:

Continual and repeated interruptions of the patients answers to his questions.
Not understanding that his language was a severe barrier to communication.
Repeated antics that showed the patient that he was in a hurry.
Verbally leaving the patient with no hope.
Talking down to the patient.

Medical doctors whose practice methods include one or more of these are insulting their patients and downgrading the profession. Now look at what these mean to a patient.

1. Interruptions: Have you ever spoken with someone who second guesses each thought you are about to say, interrupts you in the middle of your sentence to arrogantly answer what they have guessed is your upcoming question? Dont you get upset?

And if it continues, do you automatically clam up? Doctors who dont listen, lose patients. Patients are shortchanged in their medical care.

2. Language issues: Foreign doctors commonly dont seem to get it. They think that speaking English rapidly, as they speak in their primary language, is easy for patients to understand who dont speak their language.

Patients are intimidated by that. Most wont ask the doctor to repeat it over and over until they understand what was said. Dont you think that these doctors would understand that they must speak slower to be understood?

3. In a hurry: Its perfectly clear to the patient that a doctor who never takes a second to sit down, talks rapidly, talks with their hand on the door knob, and paces around in the room that their time is more important than their time with the patient---and patient care.

Doesnt that doctor know that they are saying to the patient, Dont bother me with all your medical questions and problems! Isnt that poor health care? Absolutely!

4. No hope: Doctors who are in a hurry rarely take time to explain things to patients. Quick and short answers always leave patients with an uncomfortable feeling about the doctors knowledge and expertise.

Usually, there is very little discussion (and no time taken) about possible other treatments, new medications to use that might help, and the future new advancements in treatment of the patients medical condition. It sends a message to the patient that, Sorry, youll just have to live with the illness---there arent any alternatives!

5. Talking down: Patients in this generation are well informed about medical illnesses and treatment possibilities. If a doctor doesnt take the time to find out how much the patient knows and understands about their medical problem, how can they fit their treatment to the patient? They cant.

The alternative to fitting the treatment to the patient is dictating the patients treatment. And that assumes the patient is ignorant. Fitting the treatment to the patient is to insure they will follow instructions and believe in the appropriateness of the diagnosis and treatment. If the doctor orders you to take the medication, even if you became nauseated the last time you took it, would you follow it? I hope not!

If this were just a rare set of circumstances in medical care, one could overlook it all without judgment of the whole profession. But, its commonplace. So we are forced into the realities of the deficiencies of doctors and health care.

Solution: Seek higher ground. Keep changing doctors until you find one who understands what patients need and want. One that feels and senses what good health care is all about.