How to Tell if It's Time to Change Doctors
Continuity of care is important. Following through with a doctor's assessment and treatment recommendations makes sense, unless there are problems and issues that interfere. There are reasons that may necessitate moving on to another doctor. Some patients, though not satisfied with their doctor, maintain the relationship because they just don't know how to move on. How do you tell a doctor you're not coming back? How do you find a new doctor more suitable to your needs? If you find yourself in that situation, make your needs the priority. A positive relationship with your doctor boosts your effort to improve your health and live well with arthritis.
Not every patient appreciates the same type of doctor. Some doctors explain medical information in detail while others are brief with explanations. Some doctors are better listeners than others.
Essential
A doctor's personality is not reflective of their ability to diagnose and treat patients, but it may make a difference in your responsiveness. You need to feel comfortable with your doctor. Consider how you feel when you leave your doctor's office. That's a good indication of your overall satisfaction.
Trust and Confidence
The foundation for a lasting doctor-patient relationship is trust. You must trust in your doctor's ability. You must trust in your doctor's advice, guidance, and judgment and feel that you're being told everything you need to know. If you have trust, feelings of apprehension disappear. If you lack trust, your confidence in the whole process will erode.
Communication
The issue of communication is two-fold. For you to be compliant with your treatment plan, you need to be fully informed regarding why certain decisions are being made; most people don't comply with what they don't understand. You need a doctor who is forthcoming with information pertinent to your condition. You must feel assured that your doctor believes the time spent helping you understand is time well spent.
After your doctor offers a thorough explanation of what you need to know, you should be encouraged to ask questions and clarify anything that is still not completely clear.
Conversations between you and your doctor should not feel strained, tense, or awkward, even when the discussion gets complicated. Your conversations should help you decompress, not stress.
Continuity Between Visits
Your doctor is a busy person and sees many patients every day. When it's your turn in the office, your doctor should be up to speed on your medical file, and be able to recall exactly where you left off during your previous visit. There is something unsettling about a doctor who has to fumble through the pages of your medical record in search of a starting point. If you sense your doctor is lost, your intuition is probably correct. Everyone has a bad day now and again, but just as time is valuable to your doctor, time is valuable to you as well.
You may not have an optimal situation if you need to remind your doctor what tests were ordered last visit, your doctor repeatedly can't find test results in your file, if you had a bad test result but were not called and informed, and if you have to remind your doctor that it's time to have a routine or repeat test. It's common sense that continuity of care will work in your favor, and you should not settle for less.
Inconveniences
There are more practical problems that might make a doctor unsuitable for you. Certainly, you must check that your doctor is available to you through your health-insurance plan. Many plans have preferred provider lists and you will need to choose your doctor from the list or consider that there may be an extra expense to see a physician who is not on your provider list. Other considerations include:
Location — Determine how far away from your residence you are willing to drive to your appointments. If possible, the location should not be a burden for you.
Reaching your doctor — If an unforeseen problem develops, how accessible is your doctor to you? Can you talk to him directly on the telephone? Can a nurse get a message to your doctor quickly and call you back? Is there an answering service taking messages after hours?
Short notice — If you need an appointment before the one you already have scheduled, how difficult is it to get in to see your doctor? Is it possible to be added on at the end of the day or first thing in the morning?
Long waiting lists — If you are a referral patient, is the wait to get an appointment unreasonable? Are you being offered an appointment many weeks or even months away and longer than you feel you can wait?
These are issues that matter to patients in varying degrees. You can see, though, that the more things you feel are right and the fewer things that seem wrong will work in your favor.
Before you decide to switch doctors, consider getting a second opinion. It will put you at ease if the second opinion concurs with the recommendations of your regular doctor and it gives you the opportunity to compare the two doctors.
If you still feel you need to change doctors, you have the option of not explaining why you won't be returning. Contact the office personnel for a copy of your medical records. You also have the option of discussing the issues with your doctor, giving it one last chance to see if it's a workable situation. If not and you still decide to move on, informing your doctor of your reasons may actually help the doctor improve on weaknesses.
