Medical System Frustrates Doctors Too

by Jacqueline L. Jones

There was a time when I hated mainstream medical professionals. Wouldn’t YOU get a little surly after repeatedly hearing that you were a hypochondriac in spite of the fact that you had a persistent fever of 104 degrees, your ankles were so swollen you couldn’t walk, and you couldn’t lift your hands over your head or do dishes? How could you avoid feeling a little smug when you fixed much of the problem without them, and most of them didn’t know enough to know anything was wrong?

My attitude is beginning to change thanks to the book How Doctors Think. Dr. Jerome Groopman, the book’s author and a medical researcher, Harvard professor, and journalist, says that though some insensitive physicians make snap decision that harm patients, most started off as caring professionals and have become jaded by dealing with the system. Insane restrictions from insurors and equally insane control by pharmaceutical companies along with time restrictions dictated by practice managers have created a prescription for disaster. Unfortunately, insensitivity only adds to the problem, but I can’t say I’d have a different attitude under the circumstances. I hate to say it, but I’m beginning to empathize with them.

Health care reform in this country must allow more time for providers to meet the needs of patients. Proper service will save mountains of money for practitioners and patients alike through early intervention and a reduced number of malpractice lawsuits, and thus, fewer advanced cases and lower malpractice insurance rates.

You can purchase a copy of How Doctors Think through the Health Policy section of the Chronic Illness Care and Prevention Shop.