My Doctor by Ted Bacharach MD (retired)
Once upon a time, as all old stories begin, people used to talk about “my doctor”. Recently one hears this remark far less frequently. Today people are more apt to mention my “primary care” or “the doctor they sent me to” or the ER doc, and so forth. What happened to my doctor and what changed? The answer is really quite simple. The doctor no longer works for you, he works for the insurance company or the corporation that employs him. His loyalty has shifted from his patients to some other more distant entity which provides him with a monetary return. Most people, even doctors, try to please the entity that provides their financial rewards. The relationship that once existed between doctors and their patients has been fractured but it is remembered with great fondness by many doctors as well as patients. Progress is not always in an upward direction.
Editor’s note: Amen!
Hurray for that great relationship. However “trusted” doctors used to lovingly yank the tonsils out of just about every kid that came into their office, and they dispensed unlabeled pills. If Doc said to take the “little green pills”, well, then the patient took them, no questions asked. I like to be empowered. Yes, have a great relationship with your doc, but make it a two way street.
Ted, spot on. To that I must add, “What happened to my patient? When did clients in the office become so angry, and why is it so often directed at me? Where did their expectations come from, and why do they think I can meet them perfectly, and on the cheap? “