I try and give a plan, either verbal or written, to each patient that walks out of the exam room.
This event made me realize how many patients felt when they came into my office. People are often worried that they are over-reacting. They wonder what I must think for a person to come to the office with that symptom. This is especially true of parents bringing their children in. Nobody wants to be “that mother that overreacts to everything.” In response to this, I try to say specifically, “I am glad you came to the office for this because…” or “Yeah, I can see how that worried you because it could be….”
Rule 5:
They pay for a plan
What do people pay for when they come to the medical office? They pay for opinion, yes. They pay for knowledge as well. But what they really pay for is a plan of action based on their circumstances. If
38 Journal for Minority Medical Students
they have an ear infection the plan is to use Rule 6: an antibiotic (maybe) and treat the pain. If they have abdominal pain, the plan may be With all of the stresses in a doctor’s much more complex. They want to know office, I get tempted to complain about what is going to be done, and that it is things. Who better to complain to than going to help. someone who feels much the same way? I try to give a plan, either verbal or But patients are paying for you to take written, to each patient that walks out of care of their problems, not the reverse. I the exam room. What medications are keep my personal gripes or frustrations to given and why? What medications are to myself as much as possible. be stopped? What tests are ordered and what will the results mean? When is the next appointment? What should they call for if they have problems? The better I can Dr. Rob Lamberts is a primary care practitioner with a practice in Georgia. He is board certified answer these questions, the more confidently the patient will walk out of the exam in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. You can follow his blog, Musings of a Distractible Mind, room. The days of paternalistic medicine at http://distractible.org. are over—no handing a prescription and just saying “take it.” Patients should know why they are putting things in their body.
The visit is about them