Choosing Your Physician by David Schneider

Most people assume and expect that when they go to a physician’s office or a hospital for their care that they will receive the best possible care and advice by their caregivers. This is a valid expectation by the general public and by the providers of your care within their own industry.

People who are in the business of caring for the sick are dedicated, intelligent and professional people and are looking out for your well being at every step of the way from the person who registers you as a patient to the nurses, technicians, physicians etc.

Over the past 20 years the face of modern medicine has changed dramatically with the rapid advent of new technology and information. The pace of development is always accelerating promising great advancement in the practice of medicine in all related fields.

Your general physician is now acting as a gatekeeper for your care: referring you to other specialists when the need arises to someone who is focused on your particular diagnosis for further diagnosis and or treatment. Your personal physician plays a very important role in your care and they have much influence over your health picture in general.

Forty years ago the role of the physician was slightly different. Neighbourhood doctors acted as family doctors and counsellors and were held up in very high esteem by the community and society in general. Although most recent studies on public perception of professionals revealed that doctors are still the most respected professionals in society there has been some shift in the public’s expectations and criteria for choosing their caregivers.

Since the public now is more educated and interested in their treatment decisions and there is easy access to information about health topics via the internet, television and published media doctors and hospitals are now faced with many more proactive questions by patients about their care and expected outcome regarding procedures and treatments. Although this often creates more work for us in the medical profession we see this as a positive step by having the patient more involved in their treatment decisions and health plan strategy.

In most countries when people use insurance and seek out private care they have many choices of hospitals, physicians, complementary care and sometimes without proper information the task of choosing your provider can become quite daunting. This is especially the case if some serious emergent health problem comes up without warning.

There are many factors that can influence our choice of physicians or hospital. Here are some simple ideas listed below that might help someone choose a provider.

When choosing a primary care physician it is not impolite to find out:

• Where they did their training?
• How many years they have been out of training?
• What hospitals they like to refer to and why?
• Do they focus or specialize in a particular aspect of care?

These simple questions will help you feel more comfortable as a patient and give you an insight into their background and interest in their field.

When the need arises for choosing a hospital it is a good practice to find out the following:

• What is the hospital noted fore? For example: Do they do a lot of hip replacements if you need one? Do they deliver a lot of babies if you are pregnant? Etc…
• What is the nurse to patient ratio? How many nurses to patients on staff? This is a good indicator of how a hospital supports inpatient care. There are guidelines in many countries. Nursing staff are expensive and the first to go sometimes in a crunch so this figure is an insiders view of how hospitals address patient needs.
• Speak to patients who have been patients at the hospitals you are considering. Nothing like a patient’s recommendation.
• Ask your doctor what they think. Doctors rely on hospitals to take care of their referrals. They have power over our choices and are very protective of you in the background wherever they send you for care whether it is a referral doctor or hospital.

A great website to read about disease and treatment options is: The Mayo Clinic.

Always remember to pick your caregivers with careful thought and you will have the best outcome possible.

Copyright 2009 David Schneider | www.asiaoncbiz.com