Expectations vs. Entitlement: Part I
Beginning to Define Core Values in Healthcare
Charlie goes to the same local restaurant every Wednesday at 1:00 for about 10 years. He is a good patron. He shows up on time, is courteous to all the staff and is a generous tipper. He enjoys sitting at his favorite table by the window.
One day a new waitress places him at a table in the back near the busing station because some local big shot business men and women were to have a power lunch and she thought that they would like that window area.
Is Charlie entitled to his seat at the window or should Charlie just expect to get the seat by the window?
By all accounts he seems to have earned a sense of entitlement. He probably has given the restaurant thousands of consistent dollars over the last ten years and had limited demands. Shouldn't that entitle someone to the best seat in the house? Maybe he should expect it and then realize that not everyone can realize his expectations all the time. What do you think? Do you expect me to care what you thought? Are you entitled to tell me what you thought? Whatever.
What should a patient expect in healthcare today? Are patients entitled to any specific rights or actions of others? If there is some entitlement, where is its source? Who gets to decide? Are expectations reasonable? In what circumstances should one expect a certain behavior on the part of nurses or doctors? Do you expect to get a call back from your doctor within 2 hours from when you left a message? What about 4 hours? What if it was 4 days? What if he never called you back but had his nurse practitioner call you instead? Aren't you entitled to a call from your own doctor, or is it just a reasonable expectation?
Your lawyer charges by the hour and calls you back. Your doctor does not get paid for that callback - is the expectation tied into financial relationships or does a higher order supercede in this situation? Does any higher order exist? Did this order evolve or was it intelligently designed (er...I mean created).
I had this discussion with my patient Henry recently, who is 90 years old and sees me for his chronic shoulder arthritis. Every once in a while I inject both of Henry's shoulders and that keeps him going for quite a while.
One day I kept Henry waiting for about an hour (a short wait some days in a busy office). While I apologized for my delay, Henry cut me off and said "Doc, I really don't have many places to go and I know that you squeezed me in today and I appreciate it."
What did Henry expect? What was he entitled to?
I used this moment to discuss this very issue with my wise old friend. We came to the following conclusion: A patient is entitled to get the full attention and energy of the doctor during the visit and during the entire treatment plan and have the doctor make meaningful decisions always in the best interests of the patients. We both decided that a patient was entitled to that just by entering the doctor-patient relationship.
A patient could expect to be seen on time but is not entitled to this. An expectation not an entitlement. We actually could not think of any more entitlements than the one we came up with. Most of what we discussed seemed to be expectations.
Patients with a displaced sense of entitlement are actually quite annoying. Almost as annoying as doctors who have disdain for patients and don't respect their complaints enough to fully listen to their problems. Almost.
Close to 5000 office visits move across me on the river of medicine I call my practice. Not a day goes by where I either fail to meet someone's expectations or come across an unreasonable SOB with a sense of entitlement that their issue should dominate the entire attention of my office because, for example, they are the CEO or the Whaterthehellitis Corporation. It upsets me to not meet a patient's expectations and it enrages me when the entitled cross the threshold.
Not that the Declaration of Independence represents an authoritative piece of work but there is some good quotable stuff in there. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Pulled out my copy of the DOI and looked intensely for the section of free medications. Not there.
I looked for the section on "no waiting more than 10 minutes in a doctors office". Not there.
I looked for "having the doctor call every family member on their private jet with constant updates about Grandma because we are too busy to get our rich fat butts into the hospital to see her ourselves." I originally thought that was there and then realized I was wrong. Not there.
Life, Liberty and the PURSUIT of happiness. Pursuit. The opportunity to have the freedom to pursue a dream or a goal. Not the entitled attainment of that goal.
What do you think?
Related Topics: Choosing A Doctor, Being A Good Patient
Technorati Tags: healthcare, doctor, patientadvocacy,
Charlie goes to the same local restaurant every Wednesday at 1:00 for about 10 years. He is a good patron. He shows up on time, is courteous to all the staff and is a generous tipper. He enjoys sitting at his favorite table by the window.
One day a new waitress places him at a table in the back near the busing station because some local big shot business men and women were to have a power lunch and she thought that they would like that window area.
Is Charlie entitled to his seat at the window or should Charlie just expect to get the seat by the window?
By all accounts he seems to have earned a sense of entitlement. He probably has given the restaurant thousands of consistent dollars over the last ten years and had limited demands. Shouldn't that entitle someone to the best seat in the house? Maybe he should expect it and then realize that not everyone can realize his expectations all the time. What do you think? Do you expect me to care what you thought? Are you entitled to tell me what you thought? Whatever.
What should a patient expect in healthcare today? Are patients entitled to any specific rights or actions of others? If there is some entitlement, where is its source? Who gets to decide? Are expectations reasonable? In what circumstances should one expect a certain behavior on the part of nurses or doctors? Do you expect to get a call back from your doctor within 2 hours from when you left a message? What about 4 hours? What if it was 4 days? What if he never called you back but had his nurse practitioner call you instead? Aren't you entitled to a call from your own doctor, or is it just a reasonable expectation?
Your lawyer charges by the hour and calls you back. Your doctor does not get paid for that callback - is the expectation tied into financial relationships or does a higher order supercede in this situation? Does any higher order exist? Did this order evolve or was it intelligently designed (er...I mean created).
I had this discussion with my patient Henry recently, who is 90 years old and sees me for his chronic shoulder arthritis. Every once in a while I inject both of Henry's shoulders and that keeps him going for quite a while.
One day I kept Henry waiting for about an hour (a short wait some days in a busy office). While I apologized for my delay, Henry cut me off and said "Doc, I really don't have many places to go and I know that you squeezed me in today and I appreciate it."
What did Henry expect? What was he entitled to?
I used this moment to discuss this very issue with my wise old friend. We came to the following conclusion: A patient is entitled to get the full attention and energy of the doctor during the visit and during the entire treatment plan and have the doctor make meaningful decisions always in the best interests of the patients. We both decided that a patient was entitled to that just by entering the doctor-patient relationship.
A patient could expect to be seen on time but is not entitled to this. An expectation not an entitlement. We actually could not think of any more entitlements than the one we came up with. Most of what we discussed seemed to be expectations.
Patients with a displaced sense of entitlement are actually quite annoying. Almost as annoying as doctors who have disdain for patients and don't respect their complaints enough to fully listen to their problems. Almost.
Close to 5000 office visits move across me on the river of medicine I call my practice. Not a day goes by where I either fail to meet someone's expectations or come across an unreasonable SOB with a sense of entitlement that their issue should dominate the entire attention of my office because, for example, they are the CEO or the Whaterthehellitis Corporation. It upsets me to not meet a patient's expectations and it enrages me when the entitled cross the threshold.
Not that the Declaration of Independence represents an authoritative piece of work but there is some good quotable stuff in there. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Pulled out my copy of the DOI and looked intensely for the section of free medications. Not there.
I looked for the section on "no waiting more than 10 minutes in a doctors office". Not there.
I looked for "having the doctor call every family member on their private jet with constant updates about Grandma because we are too busy to get our rich fat butts into the hospital to see her ourselves." I originally thought that was there and then realized I was wrong. Not there.
Life, Liberty and the PURSUIT of happiness. Pursuit. The opportunity to have the freedom to pursue a dream or a goal. Not the entitled attainment of that goal.
What do you think?
Related Topics: Choosing A Doctor, Being A Good Patient
Technorati Tags: healthcare, doctor, patientadvocacy,
36 Comments:
First of all, a good seat in a restaurant does not even compare to having good healthcare.
When a person enters the doctor/patient relationship, they are entrusting their lives to the doctor. And don't be so arrogant as to forget, we hire you as an employee and can fire you just as quickly.
All people are entitled to the best medical care possible, regardless of who they are or who they know. We are talking about human lives here. Not dinner or a night on the town.
You are obviously one of those doctors that I so fondly refer to as having SDS. Stupid Doctor Syndrome. You think you don't owe anything to anyone and can't even get your head out of your backside.
Do the world a favor and choose a profession that doesn't need compassion or respect for human life.
The difference in an expectation and an entitlementis going to be as different form one person to the next as we are all different. As a person we are entitled to the best care that our Doctors can give, we just expect that as we go in. It seems that the ones who have the out of line expectations in many instances are the Doctors as they expect their patients to not take up a lot of their precious time by coming to them with I am not sure what is wrong. I have had to deal with physicians that come in with an attitude that out in the real world would have meant a swift butt-kicking because they felt I was taking up their precious time, they need to remember that our time is just as precious as theirs and that yes we are coming to them for a reason whether in their mind that reason is large or small. I recently found a Dr. that is willing to listen to what I have to say and is willing to try to help every way he can and I am blessed for that as I have been to several that have told me I can't help you just learn to live with it, they have no idea or do they care about someone having to live with chronic pain 24/7. So as far as expectations I expect very little for Dr.s anymore because that is what most seem to show but I am entitled to have the best care possible when I am a patient. If I were to work with a less than full effort I would not expect to be in business very long and some of the Dr.s need to looke very hard at that as they may think they work for themselves but in reality they work for their patients and nobody else.
I wish doctors would charge for phone calls. Some already do, but they are in the minority.
As is my case, I live in a small town and the closest neurosurgeon is 86 miles away. It's not feasible for me to drive all that way just to ask him a question let's just say concerning the bruising on my jaw from cervical fusion and I'm sure he doesn't want me to use a time slot for another patient just to ask that question.
I saw my neurosurgeon's nurse just this past week for my monthly follow up from lumbar surgery. I'm still having severe issues with my 2nd cervical fusion of 11/29/05 and his nurse agreed; however, he doesn't know the next course of action to be taken. Whether I need another MRI (have CT Scan from 8/2/05) or whether NS just wants to operate. It's not my fault I saw the nurse instead of the neurosurgeon; so therefore, they are going to CALL ME today and let me know.
As vc5937 said, we choose our doctors and are entrusting our lives to our doctors and EXPECT quality care.
I don't believe a patient should have to wait more than 30 minutes after his scheduled appointment before seeing the doctor unless there is an emergency (i.e. deliver a baby, emergency surgery). A patient's time is just as valuable as a doctor's time.
I know for a fact, that most doctor's schedule their appointments 15 minutes apart so they can see and make more money. The receptionist usually asks why you need to see the doctor in the first place; however, it doesn't matter why. because the appointments are made for 15 minutes unless you are a new patient.
What infuriates me to no end is to be waiting for the doctor to appear after you've already told the nurse why you are there and the doctor comes in and asks the same question. That's EXPECTATION from the doctor because he doesn't take the time to read the nurse's notes.
Entitlement vs Expectation in the medical field. A patient is Entitled to receive the best possible care a doctor can give him. Expectation should be thrown out the door when it comes to medical care.
Just my thoughts and views on your
article.
Sir, When I hire a mechanic,I expect him to take the necessary time to repair my car properly;when I hire a plumber,I expect him to take the time and care necessary to properly complete the job. If my sink still leaks after he is finished, I have the correct expectation that he will return my phone call to tell him so and to find a way to correct the problem. You brag (or lament) about 5000 persons in your practice. Who chose that number? What if there were only 2500 persons in your practice? Oh, I see,that would cut into YOUR expectations that by being a physician,you will enjoy a lifestyle that is overwhelmingly greater than that of your customers...I mean patients. However,there are persons in other professions who are equally invested in their educations and "subsist" on much more modest incomes. I would NEVER phone you unnecessarily,and would never expect you to phone me with updates unless there was a darn good reason I couldn't be in attendance with my loved one,such as being at attendance with another loved one. That is because I respect you, and I respect your personal time. But respect is a two way street. I have the right to be respected,also. And those annoying patients? I am sorry to have to tell you this,but you will encounter annoying persons in any job that involves dealing with the public,be it McDonalds or Mayo. Get over it. As patients, we are entrusting you with our very lives. And if you find that responsibility bothersome,perhaps it is time you moved on down the line to a job that wouldn't involve dealing with others so much. You see,sir,I have been waiting by my loved one's bedside for 10 hours today,hoping you would drop by for a hospital visit which will take you maybe 5 minutes and for which you will be paid $300. I didn't want to have to call and bother you during your private time. Get it?
I havn't read all the comments probably because I have such strong opinions on this issue that my opinions AREN'T going to change.
I don't think he should get the seat at the window it should be on a first come first served basis, not reserved. I also have issues when I see a shopping cart left in a disabled parking spot. I hated it when unimpaired people left shopping carts in the parking lot and were too lazy to bring them to a cart corral or return them back into the store, but I hate it also when a "disabled" person can drive all the way to a store, shop enough to require a shopping cart & then be "UNABLE" to return the cart. Give me a break! I think the non disabled community has their hands tied and can't critcize the struggles. Well I'm disabled and I WILL criticize the vile activities.
I appreciate consideration from the non impaired community & I want to make sure their consideration is both thanked & not abused.
About healthcare, thats easy. I think it should be entitled, like the air we breathe & like every other G8 country.
About actual healtcare services, I came down with a chronic degenerative disease recently, that made itself known suddenly & unexpectedly. And I saw the training that was used to quickly find the problem and eliminate the possibility of an acute problem.
I can't underestimate that skill & thats what we pay for. And that shouldn't be weighed down with lessor items, the lessor items should be dealt with appropriate skill levels.
And when I was told what it was, I couldn't beleive how much time the dr spent with me. I noticed on follow up visits he always ran late, he must have gotten up late, and started his day late...grin.
I imagine he was spending extra time with someone else when they were kind of shell shocked. And I could wait. If I ever find he was just sleeping in, I'm gonna be mad. But if I never find out I can wait some.
I have a genetic disorder of collagen production called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. It affects every area of my life, especially my health. Few physicians know anything about it, or what they know is incomplete or incorrect. In this case, I know far more about EDS than most of the doctors I need to see.
I feel that I am entitled to have a doctor express a willingness to learn about EDS if he takes me on as a patient. I can't choose any doctors here on the basis of their working knowledge of EDS because there aren't any. (except for geneticists and they don't offer treatment)
All I ask is that a doctor is willing to work with me and learn about EDS and not be so arrogant that he/she thinks they know all they need to know. I have ended up with a tear in the dura after surgery and leaked spinal fluid for 14 days, had to be rehospitalized, reoperated with a gravity drain of 10 days on flat bed, Antibiotic IV therapy followed for 3 months!.
My expectation is that when I tell a physician that I don't heal well, that my skin is fragile, that extra precautions are needed before any surgery because I also have RSDS, that he/she will listen to me and take appropriate precautions. That he/she will read the literature I bring with me and look at the ednf website (www.ednf.org )where the most up to date medical information is gathered in one place.
I much prefer a surgeon whom I saw recently about my crumbling spine to tell me honestly that he didn't think the total spine fusion would
work without significant problems and that he didn't want to do it. At least I know that he is honest about his ability to deal with my medical problems.
My expectation is also that I will work as a partner with my medical team. I expect that my diagnoses and options will be discussed with me and resolved jointly.
For my part, I keep an up-to-date record of all my meds and a 4 page list of my medical history along with the dates, doctors or other medical providers,diagnoses, treatments and outcomes. I insist on copies of all scans, xrays, radiologist reports, bloodwork etc.so I can be prepared to answer any questions that arrise. I am compliant with taking needed medication. I show up on time for my appointments and have a written list of questions, so I don't waste time.
I don't mind waiting as long as I am assured when it is my turn, I have the doctor's full attention. After I've waited 2 hours for my appointment, I strongly object to increased waiting while he/she sees drug reps, takes personal phone calls, etc. I know that emergencies arrise, but when this is a chronic pattern, it is time for the office staff to schedule appointments further apart.
I recently met a doctor who told me she was a concierge doctor. She said she got really tired of the 15 minute in and out office visit. she limits her practice to 300 patients per year; all of whom pay her $1200 up front in order to get instant appointments, phone calls returned and even house visits if necessary.
I'm not sure how I feel about that! It is a rather elitist concept, but she claims that she is able to provide much better medical care for fewer patients this way.
Most doctor's offices have a "patients bill of rights." Rights equals entitlement. Most state the patient has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. Most state patients have the right to the full attention of their physician during the visit and treatment. I've never seen one that said anything about doctors or their nurses returning phone calls. However, I have been given written instructions and have seen advice on-line that strongly suggests CALLING your doctor if this or that comes up. I would hazard a guess that most patients aren't trying to take advantage of the doctors office so they can be free to frolic. Most patients, I would hypothesize, wait anxiously for the doctors office to call with helpful advice. I believe there should be less of a vivalry between doctors and patients and more of a partnership. It isn't us versus them, it's us and them working together for health care solutions. There needs to be a change in attitude on BOTH sides.
I believe most people's complaints are not with doctors being 10 minutes late, but 1-2 HOURS late. As a patient, I have many times waited several hours for a doctor. And in no case did he or she ever even say they are sorry for the wait. While patients understand that the nature of the practice requires shifts in schedules from time to time, it should not be a regular problem as it often is with some doctors.
First, are we
i entitled
to good health care at all? One commenter suggests that we are.
But to say that we are entitled to is is to say that we have a right to it. What sort of right? Is it a constitutional and legal right? Or is is a natural and moral right? Short of some amendment, I do not see that we are constitutionally entitled to any such thing as citizens.
But to suggest that we have a natural or moral right to such care is to suppose, for example, that the right to life is not merely the right not to be killed, but also a right to whatever is needed to continue living. My negative right to life imposes a duty upon you not to kill me. But if that right is also positive, then someone, somewhere, also has a duty to provide essentials to me, including health care. I don't know a good argument for this conclusion.
The doctor's blog, however, had a narrower focus. To what sort of treatment and service is a patient
i entitled?
Though perhaps a little rough around the edges, the doctor's answer strikes me as basically correct. The covenant relationship between doctor and patient
i entitles
the patient to the best care within the doctor's capability and to
i conscientious and respectful
treatment and service. In actual practice, the latter entails that I am
i entitled
to your conscientious effort to see me on time and to give me your full attention when you do.
But it would be madness to insist that my
i rights
are somehow being violated if the reason I am being kept waiting is your conscientious treatment of another patient.
Do I expect proper medical care; ABSOLUTELY! Just as I am PAYING for proper medical care.
Pardon me sir, but we as patients would not visit your office b/c we like your decorating. We make that oppointment b/c we are in need of PROPER MEDICAL CARE.
Get over the apples and oranges crap and talk about real medical care and proper actions of physicians as I can tell you a mouth full.
18 months ago I hurt my back at work (33 yrs, 140 lbs,) and am still trying to recieve that proper treatment although I have paid thousands of dollars to the so called physicians merely to get worse by the day.
Well if telling your patients "I dont know what the h*** is wrong with you, or "there is no explanation for your pain"~when NO TESTS have been performed,,then I am qualified to be a doctor and should apply.
It sickens me how the almighty dollar has taken over our physicians. It's sad that we as patients still have to pay for that visit even when we are told such things as "its in your head". By not recieving the proper treatment, I shouldnt have to pay the proper treatment price.
Should I expect a return phone call, ABSOLUTELY. My physician took on that responsibility when he took me on as a patient. However, that return phone call would be welcomed from the nurse just the same.
Knowing there may be some patients to abuse the system and expect the impossible, physicians have no right to lump everyone in the same category and treat everyone the same.
Diseases change and multiply frequently, physicians should be forced to continue their education to ensure they are capable of keeping up with today's medicines.
It would also be nice to hear a physician be HONEST from time to time when they SIMPLY HAVE NO IDEA, then say I HAVE NO IDEA and send us to someone who may be more qualified, HOWEVER doing this shows they arent all they would like us to believe they are.
GET OFF THE HIGH HORSE AND BRING BACK THE COMPASSION THAT YOU ARE BEING PAID FOR~is exactly what I would like to tell most physicians.
PLEASE BARE IN MIND SIR,,,that what goes around, WILL AND DOES COME AROUND.
I'll limit my comments to the time and phone issues. In my experience as a patient, one of the best uses of my time waiting to see the doctor was filling out a detailed form about why I was visiting him, what my major symptoms were, where they were, how long I'd had them, previous treatments, etc. This took a good 20 min to do, and it saved him and his nurse time just asking me the same questions over again. It also cuts down on miscommunications; instead of a patient verbally telling the nurse what the problem is, and then the nurse telling the doctor, the doctor has the info in writing from the patient directly.
Returning phone calls - from a nurse or physician's assistant, 1-2 hours. Directly from a doctor, I think up to 6 hrs is ok. The office should tell the patient if the doctor normally only returns calls at the end of the day.
I think it would help everyone if the doctor and his staff identified where the bottlenecks are in patient wait times, and seeing if anything can be done about this.
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Ok, I really think that if you worked with doctors like I do you all would feel a little diffrently. Every day I watch the doctors I work with try to do it all. Most of the time they are on time but there are patients that need more time and yes that dose push other appts back, but ask yourself this if it were you who needed a longer appt because of something that is wrong with you, would you not be gratfull that the doctor did not rush to get out the door before you are done just to stay on time.
Wow, there is a lot of anger here. I feel the need to address several issues. This might take a while.
I work for a surgeon so I've seen things from both sides. Everyone thinks that they are sitting in the waiting room because of overbooking (due to greed) or because Doc and the staff are in the party room hootin' it up with drug reps.
You all talked about your expectations; maybe we should discuss what is expected of the patient.
First, showing up on time would help. Now, you may be as punctual as a Swiss watch, but I guarantee you that at least a third of the people on our daily schedule will be late. It seriously clogs the machine. It never fails for one patient to walk in 15 minutes late, another to be right on time and the third to be 15 minutes early. Then they shoot us a dirty looks and demand, "Is EVERYONE here to see Dr. Doe?" Tardy people can ruin everyone's day.
I only wish 15 minutes late were the norm. We've had patients show up as much as two hours late. Why do we still see them? In our practice we deal with people whose problems can cause serious harm if not dealt with in a matter of a few days. Re-booking and delaying them several days could cost them permanently.
Why do we book patients every fifteen minutes? Because they don't show UP! Many times there is a perfectly understandable reason. A personal emergency, their ride fell through or the kids are home sick. However, even tho we call patients the day before their appointment to remind them they still call at the last minute or don’t show up at all
Why do we overbook? Although you may have made your appointment a couple of weeks ago, someone else woke up this morning in serious trouble. Some doctor's offices say "too bad, go to the E.R." Most offices will work that patient in because 1. Unless they need to be admitted to the hospital the E.R. is likely going to send them to you anyway, and 2. We care about our patients and truly want to help them.
When our office is running behind we do our best to keep patients informed as to why. Typically it is because someone came in for what should have been a simple 3 or 6 month checkup and Doc found something seriously wrong. Should he take a chance with their health simply so that the rest of the appointments are on time? We assure those waiting that they will all get all the time they need as well. If your doctor is not doing that, then you should consider finding another.
Someone else asked why they should answer the nurse’s questions and then have the doctor ask the same questions. It's because you are human. Nearly every single patient will offer more information or more depth in the second round. The initial interview is to collect the basic information. Additionally, the doctor may see something in the nurse's notes that prompts another line of questioning. You all said it, this is your health and life we are dealing with, being thorough is imperative.
And then there is the miscellaneous file. Often times, even tho Doc is a specialist (surgical at that) he ends up counseling people about their diabetes or blood pressure. Occasionally his exam will reveal a marker for a much more serious condition that requires another specialist's involvement. I've had to contain my own anger when the waiting room's wrath turns on me, but I cannot tell them the delay is because Doc is telling someone he's discovered they have a tumor, possibly cancer.
When it comes to returning calls, on a personal level I agree with you all. It would save so much time and stress if I could just have that one question answered over the phone. Two minutes on the phone and then I'm not adding to the burden by coming in and taking up appointment space. In our office the doc takes the calls himself when he's in the office. When he's not he returns them within hours. In fact one of our new patients was stunned when he left a message with the phone service and Doc returned his call within the hour, at 11:30 on New Year's Eve!
All of my doctors have returned my calls. They are accessible; that is why they were chosen. One of the most prompt and reliable of all is the author of this blog.
Personally, I choose my own doctors not only on how they perform, but on how well their office performs. If there isn't a team effort approach to your care by the entire office, look elsewhere. Doc can't return your calls if he isn't getting the message or if it isn't conveyed properly. You have responsibility as well. You must explain your problem as concisely and efficiently as possible.
Just three days ago I arrived at a doctor's office to be told he was running an hour-and-a-half behind schedule. I was furious, but desperate, which made me even angrier. I even left, but then returned, knowing that re-scheduling even a couple of days would allow my infection to be out of control. I sat down in a huff and began to plan how I was going to chew out my physician. How dare he!
An elderly woman sat down across from me. She commented about spending the afternoon in the doctor's office. "Can you believe this?" I asked.
"I know," she responded, "I feel so bad his mother died today."
Wow! Not only had she saved me an incredible amount of face but it was a reminder of the dedication I've seen time and again. My doc had come to work that morning and as he made his way through the day the woman who gave him life passed away. I assume he left to tend to family or handle some details. Maybe he just sat in his office and wept. But he came back. He came back to take care of us.
I truly understand everyone's complaints of not getting enough time or feeling like they are being too demanding by requesting their needs be met. I've been there and on occasion, even tho I've carefully selected my docs, I still have problems that arise.
It's up to each of us to take a proactive approach to our care. If it infuriates you to wait an hour and you are consistently kept waiting an hour.....then possibly you should consider finding another doctor. You need to decide if your doctor is worth the wait. If you want to keep him/her, talk to them. Often people complain to the office staff but don't say a word to the doctor. Perhaps by sharing your frustration and concern, together you can find a solution.
I wouldn't bother bringing up long wait times with a doctor. That would cut into the precious 10 min. that is all I will get to have my medical needs (hopefully) met.
When a doctor routinely has hour long waits, it can't be that he/she routinely has a death in the family to explain this pattern. I do agree that a patient has to decide if the doctor they are seeing has some special expertise that makes it worth waiting for, or if it would be better to seek out someone else for care.
Another thing that office staff can do while a patient waits is to make certain that all lab tests, radiology reports, specialist reports, etc have arrived in the doctor's office. If not, call and have them faxed over. It's happened to me that I've finally got my 10 min with the doctor, only to find out that he/she doesn't have all the relevant paperwork in my chart. Even when I've tried to bring all that material to an office visit, it can be difficult, because some providers will not release that information directly to a patient, only to a doctor's office.
Is this too much to ask?
You are making a disingenuous distinction between expectation and entitlement as a pretext to criticize patients who are, as you say “actually quite annoying.” There is nothing pretty about entitlement wherever it occurs (surprise, surprise), and to make the argument that patients with a sense of entitlement are “actually quite annoying” is actually quite annoying.
The response it is generating, however, is actually quite interesting. You will likely interpret it as confirmation of your point, but it is just the opposite.
Your trivialization of profound suffering by comparing it to being seated at a bad table in a restaurant moves people, apparently, to describe the seriousness of their own problems. What you misunderstand is that the sense of entitlement that saturates these responses is not for your time and attention, but for a decent and healthy life.
People in pain feel entitled to relief from it. They feel entitled to their lives, and they “expect” you to help. You misinterpret their sense of entitlement only as it relates to you at the end of a long day. It has nothing to do with you and it has nothing to do with a James-Stewart-golly-gee-aw-shucks patient with an achy shoulder. It has to do with the remnants of a person trapped in a damaged body that has prevented them from enjoying those things that every human being is entitled to enjoy.
To feel entitled to fulfill the promise of one’s own life is not the same thing as getting a bad seat in a restaurant, and is not the same thing as feeling entitled to a doctor’s attention.
But perhaps at the end of a long, or to a doctor who feels entitled to easy cases and likeable patients, it may look that way.
In this situation there is no Entitlement,,,GOOD HEALTH CARE IS EXPECTED.
You people are joking right?
If all I had to worry about was how long I had to wait to see the doctor, I would be tickled to death..
I would wait for hours if when it was my turn I was given more than 10 minutes of his time.
Health Care is the biggest crock of bull ever was.
You speak of recieving a return phone call~~~~the office would be ringing my phone off the hook if they had not been paid, but to return a phone call to a worried patient may happen that day or it may happen a week from then.
To he who stated your office gets behind because of those that show up late~~why not punish the late ones and make them wait rather than the ones that were there on time~ besides if their situation was so dier they would have been there on time.
To those FEW PHYSICIANS these things dont apply to, then please accept my apologies; However, I have seen many doctors (PCP's, Specialists, Surgeons, Pain Management, Physical Therapy and many others) over the last few years and I am yet to find one that is in their position for anything other than the money they are being paid.
They herd as many patients through as fast as possible to ensure they are able to continue driving their high dollar automobiles and living in there high dollar homes.
To those that are merely concerned over the time they wait or how long it takes to recieve that return phone call~~~GET OVER IT~~Be glad that you are at least recieving good quality healthcare when it's your turn.
I agree with the doctor's comments and think it is an important distinction to make between expectations and entitlement because too many people confuse the two. When I go to see my doctor the only things that I feel entitled to are his time and attention, that he will provide me with good information so I have some knowledge about my own health and that he will use all of his knowledgte and expertise to treat me the best way possible. I'm not entitled to anything else and I do not expect my doctor to be a miracle worker that will miraculously take all my pain away nor do I feel that it is his responsibility to make sure I have a good life. I know that I am dealing with a chronic condition (most likely rheumatoid arthritis) and I know that I will never be entirely pain free and I know the condition will get worse. At this point, my doctor has done what he can do to help me and it is MY responsibility to take it from there and make a good life for myself. Maybe it would be easier to have a sense of entitlement because then I can give up that responsibility, but I prefer to drive myself on the trip through life.
My expectations for my dr are simple. I dont mind waiting for an hour or so because my dr does take walk ins and if i need to be seen without an apt i am very happy. I have had a dr who had a 3 week waiting period and didnt take walkins. if i dr doe not take walkins then they should be on time. they should schedual 15 mins every hour to take care of other stuff like reps and bathroom breaks. I have had a few drs because of a chronic condition. I expect the dr to listen to me and take the appropiate course of treatment. Not to blow me off and say i am just a drug addict. I have severe pain and have lived with it for a long time. I have worked with drs and know what thier day is like. I rarely use the 15 mins i get. the ins company is the one who sets the time limit for problems for the dr. By the time they pay the crazy medical malpractice ins fees i can see why they have to try to have so many patients. My biggest expectation for a dr is one who is caring and listens to me and then explains the course of treatment we will follow. As far as phone calls if i were to get a call back within 12 hours i would be happy. I know im not the norm but I have seen both sides. I would even take a call from the nurse or receptionist letting me know what the dr said. My problem is more the dea and other people who tell the drs what they can and cannot do. My dr cant prescribe what i need due to others. I am sure im lucky and have a couple of the truely great drs. My surgeon sits down and explains everything and we discuss what to expect and even other things. He is probably the greatest dr that ive ever met. I get to my dr apt early everytime and those that dont should have a window then have to be reschedualed. its their fault they were not there and they should take responability. Thats the problem in our society that people dont take responsability for their own actions. What is an emergency to patients is not a emergency to the dr. if it is then that is what an er is for. I do belive that alot of drs have a personality of a snake and they should not be practicing. if they dont like thier patients then they should go into research or some other feild that doesnt require human contact. I do feel entitled to good health care. i pay for it and just as going to a mechanic if the work is not good they have to fix it for free. well drs charge everytime wether they do anything or not so they are ahead of the game. I have went to a dr many times because the meds dont work. i pay everytime. I dont think that if a dr does nothing for you then you should have a right to refuse to pay. i went to an er where the dr refused to do anything, not even look in my old chart and yet he still gets paid over 300 dollars for nothing. drs like that should have to prove the reason before you pay them but thats not the way it is.I have tryed to write this as a nice person but i could go off the deep end as far as bad drs go. as far as your referance to the resturant i do think the gentleman should be able to sit in his spot if he was there before the rich people. but it really has nothing what so ever to do with medical care or drs. Thank you for reading my opinion.
An early poster referred to his physician as his 'employee' to be hired and fired at will.
In essence this is one of the root problems in medicine. The physician is not at the employ of the patient at all. The physician works for a corporation; that corporation has various contracts with health insurers; these in turn have contracts with corporate entities that employ the doctor's patient. The patient has a contractual relationship with their employer.
Quite a few layers in this process. We are all thrust together by forces well beyond our control.
You need a referral to a specialist; does my network of colleagues that I know and trust, who provide timely care of good quality matter, or do you go to the 'provider' chosen by your employer/insurer?
Indeed, how and why did you choose me as your physician (hypothetically)? Most likely we were thrust together for no well thought out reason.
This blogger is quite understandable. When anyone enters a place of business the person's demeanor, raging entitlement or polite request for help, will set the stage for all subsequent interactions. The entitlement minded person, who sees personal violation, incompetence and callousness at every turn will inevitably see these no matter how well treated they are. The person who is less in-your-face aggressive and demanding will be more likely to coax out of humans the desired behavior.
Getting the best from a system and the greatest compassion from people requires motivating them to work for you. Physicians are the same complex beings as anyone else. Our motivators are no different. We respond to money naturally, because society demands that we use money to obtain necessary goods and services for ourselves and our families. Everyone responds to financial incentives. We also respond to positive feedback. Negative feedback must be delivered carefully to effect a desired new behavior as any manager can attest; here we are no different from anyone else also. We also require sleep, have spouses and children, have family members with physical and psychiatric ailments. My car is 12 years old and the radio doesn't work; the dog is loosing control of her bladder.
The common theme of most of the rants posted here is that people forget that doctors are just people. You can get almost anything you want from another human being if you are the gentle warming sun; if you are the fierce blowing wind of the north trying to strip the physician of his coat then he will only clutch it more tightly.
I think it's very revealing where each person draws the line between expectation and entitlement.
In my book it's a two-way street. I bend over backwards to show up on time for appointments, to comply with the doctor's instructions and not waste anyone's time. I see it as living up to my part of the bargain.
The system is frustrating to deal with, though. Sometimes I've had to wait over a week to get back the results of a run-of-the-mill blood panel. Often it seems there is no opportunity to ask questions because the doc is rushing out the the door to the next appointment. I've experienced snafus that have been just maddening. Last year I showed up at the pharmacy on a Friday afternoon to pick up a new prescription, only to find the order had never been faxed in. Of course the clinic was closed by then, so it was Monday afternoon by the time the prescription was filled. Silly me, for trying to do the right thing and get the medication promptly.
I keep reminding myself that I am one patient out of many and that there are other people whose needs are far more important than my own. You never know who those patients might be... One time it was me. I had what I thought was a bad virus that wouldn't go away, and a tumor showed up on the chest X-ray. I kept people waiting that day (sorry!) but next time it could easily be anyone else. So I would be the last person to be judgmental about wait times.
And yet, and yet... I feel like the physicians are all so busy, I'm nothing but a number. Someone who doesn't even rate the courtesy of a prompt phone call or timely test results or just a conversation about how things are going. There's not a lot of humanity in the system. It's really not surprising that so many people are angry.
Interesting blog.
I think there are limits that need to be set about the service that is expected from any professional.
I do not mind waiting for a doctor who I know gives me his full attention and listens to me and takes my complaints seriously. I say I don't mind waiting but when I have to wait an hour EVERY time I have an appointment, then I have to believe that there is a problem with the front office and/or the scheduling procedures. Why would a doctor want to keep his schedule so tight as to keep people waiting all the time?
The free medicine issue is a relatively new one. When we patients are in the waiting room, watching pharmaceutical salespersons going in and out of the office, using time that could be spent on us and leaving samples for the doctors to encourage them to precribe their particular drug, then I feel I have every right to ask if the doctor has any free samples to pass on to me. I can't expect it but I can request it.
I love my docs. I will wait an hour for them. If I didn't like them so much and trust them so much, I would be looking elsewhere for my medical care.
The difference in perspective between a physician and patient cannot be understated. Physicians are constantly prioritizing their time and energy based on the level of medical problems/complication from a physician's perspective. This creates an inherent conflict with a patient's perspective on his or her own problems. Example: Coming in to be seen for a terrible sore throat is definitely important, but for a physician likely not as significant as another patient with multiple medical problems that need to be addressed.
Who will receive more time with the physician? Is that right or fair? Therein lies the difference in perspective.
It's not really a right or wrong dichtomay so much as a need to remain open-minded and make an effort to look at another's perspective.
First, why don't doctors adopt a sign-in sheet with two columns--one for patients who have no time to spare (with a short waiting period) and another for those of us who actually relish our doctor's appointments as retreats from our everyday hassles? I only have to see my specialist once every six months. I am a busy mom and, frankly, it actually irks me a bit that I cannot even finish one article of a magazine in the doctor's office without being whisked away to the exam room. I have come in forty-five minutes early so that I can claim my "luxury" time, to no avail. I have also told the office help that I am in no rush and that if they want to take other patients ahead of me, to please do so. They never have. Even if I were in a rush, I would know my doctor was late with me because another case was, in fact, more pressing. Maybe I have to pick up my children from school. I have made arrangements to come back after I get them, and the doctor has been very apologetic. What else could the doctor do?
Regarding the comments that doctors are just humans: Why don't we treat them like we would others who help us? When the school year ends, most teachers can expect an array of small tokens of affection from their students, but this is not true of doctors. I know they cannot accept gifts, but there is no reason why they cannot accept a plate of cookies or a card. Obstetricians and pediatricians often have bulleting boards of pictures and letters from satisfied patients, but I have never seen this in any other doctor's office. Admittedly, I have not done this uniformly for all my doctors. But when I have, the whole office acts like it is an extraordinary action, and I hear about it on subsequent visits.
It seems to me that those who help others (even save their lives) on a regular basis should be more used to receiving tokens of thanks above and beyond their fees. I had a condition that required an immediate surgery. He was on call and I had never met him before. Yes, he probably wasn't the only surgeon who could have done it. But the fact is that he did do it, and had it not been done, I would have died. He came to the Emergency Room at noon on a Sunday. He had a boutonier in his lapel. I am sure I wrecked a special occasion for him. Of course, it would be unprofessional of him to complain about it. That doesn't mean that it didn't affect him. But he came anyway.
Entitlement: “To give someone the right to have or do something.” There are only two things a patient is entitled to. Patients can hire or fire a doctor. They are not entitled to good care. They are not entitled to respectful treatment. They are not entitled to be told the truth about complication from poor care. Doctors self-govern and they have made a mess of doing so. The medical community encourages patients to investigate the record of a doctor before seeking help. In order for a doctor to have a record, of providing poor care, the doctor must be absolutely horrible and have repeatedly been caught making obvious mistakes or behaving very poorly. The standard of care is extremely low and designed to protect doctors not patients. Any group given the power to self-govern is going to take advantage of that power. It’s human nature. Doctors have decided what patients are entitled to and what doctors are entitled to. To prove this isn’t rational takes a huge amount of money and a team of lawyers. It’s a buyer-be-ware profession.
In light of how the healthcare system dynamic has evolved over time, it is my
opinion that the Entitlement and Expectation of an individual patient or doctor needs to be openly negotiated between the doctor and the patient (at any time during the process of giving/receiving care.) This requires one or both parties to be able to recognize and engage in a flexible, dynamic relationship. All doctors should have this learnable skill, but not all patients should be expected to -- due to variances in the socio-economic dynamics which shape them. This philosophy requires a greater responsibility on the part of the doctor, and quite frankly, unless they accept this, they can inflict harm upon the very people that they are employed to protect, advise and repair.
This negotiation is as necessary as the medical and Patient care (product or
service) itself. No expection can be adequately fufilled or evaluated without mutual understanding, discussion and agreement between parties in a relationship, business deal, or purchase of service. Do we normally buy a product without a clear sense of what to expect from it? Who determines the capability of the product? Obviously, the supplier of the product makes clear statements about the virtue of the product, and we agree to those terms and are bound by them, within reason of the laws which govern it.
I am certainly not a doctor, but believe that they should have a sense of
patient trust and respect in their field of expertise, just as we all should.
Both patient and doctor have the right to define their own personal and professional virtues, within the scope of the governing bodies that they have
chosen to be subject to (US/State/local government, AMA, religious, etc). If
asked, Physicians ought to be required by law to openly disclose the level and
character of service they can provide. The quality of Medical and Patient
care should be evaluated within these paramenters.
When I consider each of my doctors now, I am compelled to ask myself: Does my
doctor provide the the quality of service and care that they agreed to? If not, then it may be time for a discussion about expectations or even a change in doctors. Aside from unlawful neglect or misconduct, measures of character, good business, and office practice are subjective and therefore need to be illuminated, in order to define expections. Expections are meaningless and even destructive if they are not based on facts. Outside from lawful conduct, patient care facts vary from individual to individual. Doctors ARE individuals.
Many of us (patients) have a CHOICE as to what doctor we will employ. Those
of us who can-- ought to exercise our right to make informed decisions about
that choice. We cannot allow government to further hinder the freedom of our doctors to act in our best interest, and we must work together to define the virtues our healthcare system.
As long as we have that choice, and have that negotiation, our entitlements
are clear and our expectations are reasonble.
I am willing to pay for an office visit in order to establish a trusting relationship with my doctors. Are you?
No, I am not willing to pay for an office visit to establish trust. Medicine is based on trust. Doctors are certified to do a job in a competent manner, or so the public is told. Patients should be able to trust the certification process, as well as the process that monitors the performance of a doctor in practice. Doctors are not obligated to tell the truth when asked about their skill level or experience. Other doctors are not obligated to protect patients from untrustworthy doctors.
Yes, by law they should be required to tell the truth but even if a doctor lied, unless a patient had witnesses or demanded a signed statement, it would be impossible to prove a doctor had lied. Do patients have to ask for a signed statement? What would that do to a relationship that is supposed to provide trust as a given? The medical community is self-governing and always rules on the side of the doctor. Yes, doctors are individuals. This difference is supposed to be controlled by the concept of being a professional. The reason the relationship between doctors and patients has changed is because patients are no longer willing to blindly trust doctors because doctors are not held to high standards. There are examples of doctors getting away with murdering perfectly healthy patients simply because, when alarm bells were sounded, other doctors, as a reflex, stepped in to protect the offender. (Dr. Michael Swango provides a perfect example of how the protection process works.) How often does this type situation go undetected? Of course it is an extreme example, but it outlines beautifully the total lack of protection patients have when dealing with doctors.
For an example of how a doctor gains trust, by being a good actor, and then how the complaint process really works, when patients discover they’ve been tricked, view the video at this website: http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/donoharm.html
The medical community has to take responsibility for the actions of the professionals it certifies. It isn’t the patient’s job to investigate whether a doctor is trustworthy or not, because that information is not available based on the code of secrecy employed by doctors. I’m not paying one cent to interview a certified doctor to try and discover if that doctor is trustworthy. A trusting relationship is the most basic concept of medical practice. If a patient can’t assume trust then the medical profession is not a profession at all.
Thanks Anonymous for responding. And thanks for that video link, which I will pass onto my family and friends.
Let me preface this blog by saying that my comments are based on realities, not ideals.
I am also going through a similar situation with my (old) GYN, and have, as of today, been asked to find another doctor! I think it is beacause I ask questions and want to know and understand what is happening to me. I want to UNDERSTAND, not just do whatever they say with no knowledge whatsoever of what they are talking about. Doing that already very well may have cost me everything. You see, I just got out of the hospital after an ER admission with 103° fever and pertonitis, which is a word no one will (the doctors) will say. When they hear it they tense up. I had been complaining to my doctor for months about debilitating pelvic pain, abdominal pain, nausea and sometimes vomiting while she ordered ultrasound after ultrasound, all showing abnormalities. Now they say I am likely infertile. A second opinion was that the best thing for me may be hysterectomy. The 2nd opinion was by chance, my doctor's friend! My doctor never investigated the possiblity of infection. I fell out a week before scheduled surgery.
So, I do understand what you are saying, but still stand by my comment that it IS our job to police our personal frontlines, establish RELATIONSHIPS that are built on trust. And yes, trust is earned, not instantly granted without regard to performance. That's why I suggest that we establish the expectations. We have to use sound judgement (which I am learning the hard way) in evaluating the care we receive, not just expect these governing bodies and/or the field of medicine at large to take care of us.
That is simply not the world we live in anymore. It is a dangerous world and things have changed drastically in the last 10 years alone. We have to do everything we can to protect ourselves now. Attempting to level-set the relationship with high standards is our most valuable defense. Investigate your doctors. We can't wait for the "brotherhood of the defense of doctors" to protect us or vindicate us. We are are our own, short of government administered healthcare.
Ultimately the concept of what is "professional" also falls into the category of the subjective, short of civil law.
You said: "The medical community has to take responsibility for the actions of the professionals it certifies." I agree! But we can't make them do that yet, and it will not instantly stop us from getting hurt. The only way we have a chance at that is to arm ourselves, and I suggest, work with reality on an individual level NOW. My first concern is my personal health and safety. It certainly isn't theirs.
I beg to differ with you: Medicine is based on SCIENCE, not trust. Healthcare is based on trust. Trust should be established upon relationships. Relationships are built on truth. The world we live in no longer allows us to just "trust" it -- just by virtue of it's nature.
The truth is we have to be responsible and protect ourselves.
It doesn’t surprise me that a doctor would object to questions, to the point of asking a patient to go elsewhere. This is where I question how much of medicine, in practice, is science. Yes, agreed, it is based in science but the great majority of doctors are not scientists. I became so puzzled with how poorly doctors seem to understand what it is they do, beyond a superficial level, that I researched the IQ of medical doctors. The average IQ of doctors graduating from med. school is 120. Meaning, half are below 120. IQ is not the whole story but as a patient it really helped put what I was seeing into perspective. Most doctors basically puppet what they were taught without really understanding or thinking about the science behind it. This makes them nasty when questioned because they can’t provide answers. Okay, so medicine is based in science and healthcare is based on thrust. Agree.
If you watch the video clip and question how many countless people in the medical profession, at all levels, knew this specific doctor was harming patients, yet said nothing to protect patients you are right. Patients have to protect themselves and each other. The first step is to try and figure out if a doctor is competent. This is difficult because doctors like to believe they are superior beings so their mistakes are their business. The next step is to accept, when push comes to shove, that nice doctor will toss a patient to the wolves if they, or another doctor, make a mistake.
I also agree that we live in a dangerous world. We live in a world where doctors would rather lie and hide mistakes, endangering the lives of patients, than clean up their own profession and start looking for ways to learn from mistakes, while balancing the fear of being sued. There is a move toward trying to design a process where doctors admit mistakes to patients, apologize, explain what went wrong and the steps that will be taken to make sure other patients are not subjected to the same mistake and, where need be, a fair payment is made to the patient without having to go to court/no lawsuits. It is believed that most lawsuits are driven by patient anger over being lied to and having no power to protect other patients from the same fate. If you watch the video clip, one of the patients felt so powerless to protect others she wanted to stand outside the doctor’s office and warn patients not to go to him. It is pathetic to reduce a person to being this powerless and the medical community should be ashamed of itself. If she had warned patients, outside his office, the doctor would have sued her for defaming him or called her a nutcase.The only reason this doctor was stopped was because patients notified the press and the press investigated his record.
Doctors have been given the right to self-govern in a system that punishes them for telling the truth. Only exceptionally ethical people will tell the truth if the truth is going to result in punishment, embarrassment or a backlash from coworkers. If patients want to look at reality then something has to be done to stop the cycle of lies and lawsuits. The reality is that although the medical profession promotes doctors as exceptional they, in fact, are not and need to be dealt with in a realistic manner. If we are going to trust them to self-govern we have to encourage a system of self-governing that rewards telling the truth.
What type of doctor do I go to for a Testicular Examination????..... I have a lump on my testical that has recently grown to 3 times its size from the last 25 years.
Anyone please give a good answer.
Well, I stumbled across this looking for information about cervical incompetence. My question what does this issue have to do with my search? Also vc5937 needs to grow up. Remember doctors are human too. They grow tired of people biting off their heads constantly when they are trying to get to everybody as fast as they can. So I say vc5937 get off your high horse and look at the big picture.
Anonymous:
For the anonymous person with a Testicular Lump. I hope this will help. A testis has many structures in it. Starting from the most outer layer of skin (Scrotal skin) followed by layers of fascia, Cremaster muscle etc. Testis also contains epididymis, Ductus deferens, Spermatic cords etc. "Lump" is a vauge description of presence of a tissue growth. Often times such growths are benign, yet bothersome. But whenever a lumps begins to grow in size, it is important to make sure that it is not cancerous. Without a good physical examination, it is difficult to assess the characteristic of the lump, what might be the origin of your lump, or what tests might be indicated for further investigation. If you have a primary care physician, please start with her/him. Your primary care physician might choose to refer you to a Urologist or Surgeon. Please know that your insurance may need a "pre-Authorization" for any surgical or other procedures. I hope that I have been of some help to you. Good Luck my friend.
I have never seen this board before so I'll leave my email addy and hope that someone here knows something that can help me.
My wife gave birth three months ago. I arrived here because I did a search on how to expedite healing the dura puntured during an epidural wet tap. She is constantly suffering from spinal headaches ( that drugs do nothing for) and pain in her back where the epidural and failed blood patch were inserted.
She has been to a spinal doctor, who told her to do physical therapy. So far none of this is working and I feel like every doctor we talk to has another agenda or idea of how he or she is going to fix this problem.
I am not an educated man, but I have read many articles and publications online. It seems to me that the cause of the headache would have to be that she is still leaking at least some spinal fluid. I think this because the pain comes and goes. This leads me to believe that the solution lies in repairing the dura. Does anyone know anyone else that this has happened to? From what I've read it's not very common, and even less common to have it last this long.
Thank you for you help. Feel free to email kayessdubaewe@yahoo.com
To anonymous 6:17pm:
Indie Cooper-Guzman is our headache specialist, and she answers questions on her Migraines message board. I'd like to invite you to post your question there.
My son was involved in auto accident. He was able to go back to work, however would have problems at times. Doctor said it might take a year for full recovery, however doctor placed in medical record that my son was fully recovered and had no pain at all. This was not true, and my son ended up having spinal surgery. Now the car insurance companies are denying claim. My son went to mediation last week and was told it was his word against the doctor's. Any assistance would be appreciated. contact me at mlbailey444@Yahoo.com
HELP! I NEED TO SPEAK WITH SOMEONE
WHO HAS HAD SPINAL CORD STIMULATIONS SURGERICAL IMPLANTED.
MY DR THINKS THIS WILL HELP PAIN IN BACK AND LEG AND DROPPED FOOT.
iF THERE IS SOMEONE THAT I COULD WRITH TOL
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