Does It Matter If You Get Along With Your Doctor?

By NATHAN MOORE, MD Seems like a silly question, right?  No one ever asks if you get along with the cashier at the grocery store or the barista at your neighborhood coffee shop.  For most folks choosing a doctor means finding someone in your area who’s taking new patients with your insurance, which usually isn’t too many.  Simply getting an appointment is hard enough, so expecting a pleasant experience and a good relationship with the doctor seems to be an unreasonable request, like asking for a unicorn who also speaks fluent Spanish. Many people don’t think patient-physician relationship is particularly important; they’re looking to the doctor for medical advice, not to be a friend.  In these days of electronic medical records and 15 minute appointments, many physicians simply don’t have the time to get to know patients and find out their motivations, goals and fears.  It’s even harder for patients with language and cultural barriers; for example, physicians talk more and listen less to black patients than to white patients.  So why do we care?  Decades of research have actually shown that a good relationship with your physician is important to your health.  Patients who have good relationships and effective communication with their physicians are more satisfied with their care, better able to manage their medical problems, and more likely to share information about their condition that leads to accurate diagnosis.  Better relationships lead to patients...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized communication Doctor-Patient primary care Source Type: blogs