A rant on patient expectations vs patient entitlement:

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.

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