Despite all the outside forces that turn physicians and patients into adversaries, this doctor remembers what’s most important:
The doctor-patient relationship is more than a commercial transaction between retailers and customers; it is a sacred bond in which both parties are interdependent. It is the place where doctors and patients become allies.Much has happened in the medical profession and in society at large to loosen and misfocus that relationship. Medical technology has led to a certain estrangement between doctor and patient, there is the constant threat of malpractice suits, Medicaid (Tenncare in our state) has unraveled, and then there is confusion over Medicare Part D and the management of the uninsured. All these have contributed to doctors and patients being thrown together almost as adversaries, rather than the allies they are meant to be.
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- Is concierge medicine partly patient-driven?
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{ 5 comments }
Very nice!
Stop it. It is this type of nonsensical tripe regarding “sacred bonds” and “becoming allies” pap that is just galling. These terms belong at the local Jim Jones cult house and not in any objective discussion on the consumer provider relationship. For years, physicians have used this mindless sappy sentimentality to get the plebeian morons to fight their battles for them. Now the other shoe is dropping on this fairyland pabulum. Until we can get this warped view of reality out of the way, it will only serve to cloud the issues of the day.
There are no outside forces that turn patients and physicians to be adversaries. Blaming poor patient relationships on others is just another way of physicians excusing their own behavior when things go bad.
“Criminallopath said…”
Chill out, dude.
If anyone knows about the hospitalist movement and how it is being used too often by PCPs as patient dumping grounds, than you know the truth about “the physician-patient bond.” It’s disolved. I think it’s ironic that the subject most often cited as a cold commercial transcation between a customer and service provider is concierge care. However, anyone who knows a good concierge physician knows that the physician-patient bond is in bold effect here.
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