The First Day: A Doctor that Cares About Me
A Doctor that Cares About Me
Rachmonos with Action
This is the ballgame. Without that one person, that one doctor, who cares about you and your health then you might as well say goodbye to the world now. In Latin there is an expression "sine quo non" which translated somewhat into English is "without which there is none." In New York English: "If you ain't got this you are screwed."
We all read about all these various people who are managing our health care to make sure we are healthy. We have the "managed care" companies, for example. If you go to any of their web sites you will almost believe that they care about your health. They care primarily that you BELIEVE they care about your health so they can sell more plans. The list goes on and on about whether drug campanies, politicians, hospitals, and others care, but since I have these juicy tidbits in the later days I will concentrate on the topic at hand.
What does it mean to have a doctor that cares about you? In Yiddish there is a wonderful word -- Rachmonos. The pronunciation is difficult but the message is clear. A Yiddish dictionary interprets this as Rachmonos: (rach-mo-nis) - sympathy, empathy. It is much more, though. It is heartfelt loving kindness and care that affects your soul to such a point that it will drive you to action to help the other person you are feeling rachmonos for. THAT is what you want from your doctor.
In the medical maze known as American medicine you need a supreme advocate for your healthcare. Here is a partial list of the duties of this advocate:
Is it possible? It may not be possible for every doctor to succeed in this superhuman description to be everything to everyone. We do want our doctors to try. Trying to do the right thing is the best way to start.
If you find that doctor who cares about you then pin a medal on his/her chest and keep that person forever. Without that central person, you will get eaten alive by insurance companies, hospitals, drug companies, politicians, neutriceutical/herbal snake oil salesmen, and more.
Your one goal this coming year is to find the doctor that works for you.
Sine quo non.
Dr. K.
P.S. I would like to solicit stories from this post about POSITIVE experience about a doctor in your life that made things better for you.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: healthcare, rachmonos, patient advocacy
Rachmonos with Action
This is the ballgame. Without that one person, that one doctor, who cares about you and your health then you might as well say goodbye to the world now. In Latin there is an expression "sine quo non" which translated somewhat into English is "without which there is none." In New York English: "If you ain't got this you are screwed."
We all read about all these various people who are managing our health care to make sure we are healthy. We have the "managed care" companies, for example. If you go to any of their web sites you will almost believe that they care about your health. They care primarily that you BELIEVE they care about your health so they can sell more plans. The list goes on and on about whether drug campanies, politicians, hospitals, and others care, but since I have these juicy tidbits in the later days I will concentrate on the topic at hand.
What does it mean to have a doctor that cares about you? In Yiddish there is a wonderful word -- Rachmonos. The pronunciation is difficult but the message is clear. A Yiddish dictionary interprets this as Rachmonos: (rach-mo-nis) - sympathy, empathy. It is much more, though. It is heartfelt loving kindness and care that affects your soul to such a point that it will drive you to action to help the other person you are feeling rachmonos for. THAT is what you want from your doctor.
In the medical maze known as American medicine you need a supreme advocate for your healthcare. Here is a partial list of the duties of this advocate:
- Make himself/herself available to the patient
- Listen to the medical complaints
- Work hard to make a diagnosis
- After the diagnosis, come up with a comprehensive treatment plan
- Be willing to understand at least some specifics about your health plan that gets in the way of your care.
- Recognize the pitfalls in the system, whether these are barriers put up by your healthplan, poorly constructed government regulations, overpriced medications, or hospitals that have arbitrary rules that produce unnecessary errors.
- Navigate aggressively through those barriers to make sure the treatment plan is completed.
- In the end, do something to help make you a healthier person to the best of his or her abilities.
Is it possible? It may not be possible for every doctor to succeed in this superhuman description to be everything to everyone. We do want our doctors to try. Trying to do the right thing is the best way to start.
If you find that doctor who cares about you then pin a medal on his/her chest and keep that person forever. Without that central person, you will get eaten alive by insurance companies, hospitals, drug companies, politicians, neutriceutical/herbal snake oil salesmen, and more.
Your one goal this coming year is to find the doctor that works for you.
Sine quo non.
Dr. K.
P.S. I would like to solicit stories from this post about POSITIVE experience about a doctor in your life that made things better for you.
Related Topics:
Technorati Tags: healthcare, rachmonos, patient advocacy
