Why it is so hard to find a good Doctor?
Have you ever been so let down while navigating your health concerns that you just thought “all doctors suck” !! Well, as it turns out , you are not alone. Some data will suggest only about 57 % of people in the united states think doctors have their “best interest” at heart . I don’t know about you , but that leaves almost have that feel differently.
Here is the good news. THERE ARE BAD APPLES IN EVERY PROFFESION :) oh , that is the good news. But the bad news is that when it comes to healthcare and the moments we feel sick is just the absolute worst timing for a medical provider to have a bad showing.
What are some reasons this happens?
1) insurance reimbursement incentive/dictations. yes , it’s a real thing . The doctors or providers that work at clinics that seem “traditional” and “take your insurance” are under tremendous pressure to keep up with notes taking and EHR standards and protocols that would make most people crumble under pressure even when there is no pressure to be had.
2) Time with patients . This is right in line with the above mentioned protocols . It is a reimbursable /billable situation and though no 2 patients are the same in terms of complaint and what the notes will say , the provider will hustle to get to the next patient because they simply must and have not much of a choice. This often results in the patient feeling unheard, or at the least left without enough time to divulge all of their symptoms and may be left with additional questions. Yet the worst is when the doctor or provider is in CYA mode and makes a referral and you can’t even see the other provider for 2 months (if you are lucky) .
3) Doctors in these settings are often so overwhelmed that they burnout so fast and seem to blame the patients for non-compliance and it comes off from them to us the patient as needing to be 10000% accountable (now, of course this is not ALWAYS TRUE, but i believe exists more than people in these settings will ever admit).
What can be done about this ? how will this change ?
a) Just find a cash pay / accessible doctor or provider that does not “take insurance” and I think you will be pleasantly surprised just how affordable and accessible they are.
b) come to terms that the Insurance based doctors which are big medicine and hospital setting white coat wearing (usually) providers are great for what they should be great for ….. EMERGENCY and Surgery! That’s right , those two ITEMS require hundreds of thousands of dollars and teams of medical proffesnals that is precisely the reasons you are paying a premium and a copay for “Health insurance” (whether you understand it or not), not for office visits and the attention you , me or anyone else expects from their provider.
c) Do everything in your power to go see a “recommend/referred” doctor of you friend , family or loved one. I can’t tell you how many times someone has referred their loved one to me and because they were trying to save a buck or “use their insurance” they went elsewhere only to suffer and get nowhere…. they always show up later and get the same impression (say the same thing) I should have just come in sooner when what’s their name told me :(
So, there it is…
Doctors don’t all suck , but I can see why so many people as patients leave a visit feeling like they do.