Why suffering patients find their way to psychiatrists

“Psychiatrists may be the last batch of physicians who are still granted a luxurious amount of time with patients.”

So says Maria, a psychiatrist who blogs over at intueri.

And because time is so undervalued without our health system, some doctors relying on psychiatrists to counsel patients in the hospital. She cites an example with surgeons, saying that “it is entirely unfair to both the patient and the psychiatrist for the surgeon to completely emotionally ‘turf’ the patient.”

Are surgeons better off letting psychiatrists, who may have more experience in the area, guide patients through times of suffering? Or are they, in Maria’s words, asking he psychiatrists to have a doctor-patient relationship for them?

In the end, it comes down to how time is undervalued, and thus, weakens the doctor-patient bond. And until we find a way to rectify this, I’d expect the trend of emotionally turfing patients to continue.