Has the nature of doctors changed recently?

In The Sticks

In The Sticks

Friend of Frank
Location
Central Virginia (Charlottesville/Richmond)
I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, or if it's just me, but I think the nature of doctors has changed for the worse.

I had a health scare a couple of years ago and found that most of the doctors I saw really don't want a "relationship" with the patient. It seems as though they would prefer to bypass the human interaction altogether. I've had a few that cut me off in mid-sentence, telling me that the things I'm saying are irrelevant, and just being curt and somewhat derisive.

I just went thought the same thing yesterday with a cardiologist (follow-up visit for a presumed small stroke.) The guy had data to convey and wanted to dump & run...he was just plain impatient. And it wasn't his workload.

Maybe I just got spoiled by the doctor I had seen for over 25 years. I could talk to him, and he appreciated patients being engaged in their health. After I moved, for the next 5 years I still drove 100 miles each way to have him do my annual physical. He retired 5 years ago.

I have a couple of non-emergency things that need attended to, but I'll be damned if I'll let any of these people touch me. If I exit the procedure worse off than I entered it, I don't think I'd get any relief from them, so I'll just live with things the way they are.

I don't think it's me. Maybe it is. But I don't think so.
 

My doctor is pretty good. I went in this past week for my annual Medicare exams...blood work, etc., and he took the time to have a nice conversation...asking if I had any new symptoms in the past few months, etc. Then, the next morning he called with the results of the blood tests, which luckily all came back normal. They will be scheduling my annual heart and lung tests for later this month at the hospital...Medicare covers the LDCT lung scan every year, through age 77, so I get that, just to be on the safe side. All the doctors I've had any interaction with, in the past several years, seemed ok to me.
 
In The Sticks said:
I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, or if it's just me, but I think the nature of doctors has changed for the worse.

I had a health scare a couple of years ago and found that most of the doctors I saw really don't want a "relationship" with the patient. It seems as though they would prefer to bypass the human interaction altogether. I've had a few that cut me off in mid-sentence, telling me that the things I'm saying are irrelevant, and just being curt and somewhat derisive.

I just went thought the same thing yesterday with a cardiologist (follow-up visit for a presumed small stroke.) The guy had data to convey and wanted to dump & run...he was just plain impatient. And it wasn't his workload.

Maybe I just got spoiled by the doctor I had seen for over 25 years. I could talk to him, and he appreciated patients being engaged in their health. After I moved, for the next 5 years I still drove 100 miles each way to have him do my annual physical. He retired 5 years ago.

I have a couple of non-emergency things that need attended to, but I'll be damned if I'll let any of these people touch me. If I exit the procedure worse off than I entered it, I don't think I'd get any relief from them, so I'll just live with things the way they are.

I don't think it's me. Maybe it is. But I don't think so.
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Almost exactly the same thing is happening here and has been for a while now....
 

Don M. said:
My doctor is pretty good. I went in this past week for my annual Medicare exams...blood work, etc., and he took the time to have a nice conversation...asking if I had any new symptoms in the past few months, etc. Then, the next morning he called with the results of the blood tests, which luckily all came back normal. They will be scheduling my annual heart and lung tests for later this month at the hospital...Medicare covers the LDCT lung scan every year, through age 77, so I get that, just to be on the safe side. All the doctors I've had any interaction with, in the past several years, seemed ok to me.
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Part of the issue in my area is that all of the small practices have been swallowed up by the University of Virginia Health System. All these guys work for the same large corporation. I had lost my insurance for a while and stopped taking cholesterol meds, so when I started up again my numbers had gone up. My doctor referred me to a cardiologist merely because my untreated cholesterol had gone up!!! The cardiologist did nothing but give me an EKG (which my other GP had done as part of my physical every year), and told me to "go vegan." There were no diet or lifestyle conversations, or any talk at all.

I went in for my annual physical with the guy and when he was done, he told me to make a separate appointment with the nurses and come back another day to have fluids collected as part of the physical!!! I guess they got to bill for two separate visits.
 
There are huge mergers of health care systems and unless you've been with a doctor for some time, it takes awhile for them to get accustomed to getting to know you. Also, many use nurse practioners these days and don't see patients very often and really don't know them at all.
 
I had a long relationship with my doc. Always treated me well. Then as part of a merger, he became an administrator with medical practice as a sideline and his whole personality changed. I subsequently changed my PCP and she is competent but obviously not really interested in me. I mostly get attended to by nurses on the few occasions I bother to go in. Not a week passes that I don't receive a message from my plan encouraging me to take advantage of their new remote medical care services. It's clear they don't want my old carcas in their nice clean clinic and want to limit me to computer or phone contact. Insurance plans have us right where they want us.
 
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Since moving to this area four years ago we have had three different GPs through no fault of ours. We are now patients with one of the doctors at a small new walk-in clinic which means that we can make an appointment and the wait time is significantly less that other (non) patients at the clinic. Time alone with the doctor is kept very short so to make best use of the few minutes you have, it is wise to prepare ahead regarding any concerns/questions you may have. Although he is very busy he seems to care so hopefully the relationship will last for awhile.
 
My take is that it’s not just doctors.
Regardless of profession, it seems that numbers are the name of the game.
If you have a comment to make or a question to ask, best to do so QUICK because your time is fixin to be up.
 
We use our cardiologist as our "mainline doc"...he's a hoot. He's booked up early in the morning for a year in advance. Why, because if you come in the afternoon you have to wait a long time and then he might yak and yak. Love him... the last time I said "what do you want to do, doc, live forever". He said "I used to think I did when I was young, now not so much anymore. Too funny. There' a framed cartoon where you check in that says "his blood pressure is too low...make him go sit in the waiting room for a couple of hours". LOL!
 
Liberty said:
We use our cardiologist as our "mainline doc"...he's a hoot. He's booked up early in the morning for a year in advance. Why, because if you come in the afternoon you have to wait a long time and then he might yak and yak. Love him... the last time I said "what do you want to do, doc, live forever". He said "I used to think I did when I was young, now not so much anymore. Too funny. There' a framed cartoon where you check in that says "his blood pressure is too low...make him go sit in the waiting room for a couple of hours". LOL!
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It could be based on a real condition- I think it's called White Coat Anxiety or something like that- some people are so afraid of doctors that their blood pressure actually increases when they see doctors in the traditional uniforms.
 
Got a new young doctor last year, his first practice. He has a long way to go, first is not bothering to read my file. At least an overview. Which he did not. He got mad when I told him to read up before he started changing my medications. Two together would have killed me. Which is why years ago I talked to a pharmacist and continue to do so now.
Check your bases before you move with some of these meds, many do not play well together.
 
It just the opposite for us then what the original poster and others here have said.

In the past several years, every doctor, dentist and even the hygienist and dental assistants get to know us.
They sit down facing us, close, but not to close, and have real conversations with us. Our diet, hobbies, exercise, interests, mental/emotional, lifestyle, whats new since last time they saw us. Our MD asks about our eye and dental health, our dentist asks about our physical health etc.

Especially when it is the first time they have seen us (all our medical care providers have retired in the past few years so their have been several first meetings).

I had an injury and went to urgent care, the first visit the doctor was personable. The next visit doctor was far more interested in rushing me through and entering info into the computer then any thing I had to say. I just figured he was extremely busy and needed to get to the next patient. After hours urgent care facilities are, after all, an emergency room situation. They may not have time to be personable.
 
Liberty said:
We use our cardiologist as our "mainline doc"...he's a hoot. He's booked up early in the morning for a year in advance. Why, because if you come in the afternoon you have to wait a long time and then he might yak and yak. Love him... the last time I said "what do you want to do, doc, live forever". He said "I used to think I did when I was young, now not so much anymore. Too funny. There' a framed cartoon where you check in that says "his blood pressure is too low...make him go sit in the waiting room for a couple of hours". LOL!
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The doctor I had as my GP for so long who I liked so much was a nephrologist. I started seeing him when I got kidney stones and stayed with him.
 
Homeschoolie said:
It just the opposite for us then what the original poster and others here have said.

In the past several years, every doctor, dentist and even the hygienist and dental assistants get to know us.
They sit down facing us, close, but not to close, and have real conversations with us. Our diet, hobbies, exercise, interests, mental/emotional, lifestyle, whats new since last time they saw us. Our MD asks about our eye and dental health, our dentist asks about our physical health etc.

Especially when it is the first time they have seen us (all our medical care providers have retired in the past few years so their have been several first meetings).

I had an injury and went to urgent care, the first visit the doctor was personable. The next visit doctor was far more interested in rushing me through and entering info into the computer then any thing I had to say. I just figured he was extremely busy and needed to get to the next patient. After hours urgent care facilities are, after all, an emergency room situation. They may not have time to be personable.
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That's how my last doctor was. Annual physicals took a couple of hours, and included written Lifestyle questionnaires we reviewed together. Also got a vision exam, a color blind test, an EKG, and a spirometer test (for lung capacity.)
 
You know, I realize this will sound weird but, I think part of it has to do with our insurance. I think the insurance companies has a set amount of time per visit because they don't like it if you have to talk about more than one issue at a time. Might have something to do with it. Just a guess.
 
I’ve been very fortunate with the last two doctors I’ve had. Neither one of them rushed any of my visits. Most of my visits are between 20 minutes to half an hour. They answer all my questions and never make me feel like I’m rushed which I greatly appreciate.

The doctor I have now used to be retired but didn’t like retirement so came back and he’s a real sweet gentleman. He’s ever so polite and respectful with impeccable bedside manner. Whenever he takes my blood pressure or checks my ear, he does it very gently and slowly so never startles me.

He’s the one who gave me my cannabis license so he’s cool too. Plus, this guy is almost 70 and last year rode his bicycle across Newfoundland Canada. That’s impressive.
 
Lee said:
Here in Ontario Canada you are lucky to get a family doctor, many folks are without and must depend on clinics where you get a different doctor most of the time.
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Our last family doctor who I’d been with for 12 years , retired in 2012 and didn’t tell anyone so we were out a doctor. There’s a number you can call for Ontario. I’ll try and find the number for you. They will find a doctor for you. They found one for us and we have been there ever since and really like it.
 
The practice of medicine has changed drastically in the last several years. It is not about patient care; it's about business. In other words, Money. And the more patients that are seen, the more billing that can be generated. That's why patients are rushed in & out. Time is money. And that's also what doctors base their treatment options on.
A few years ago, I saw an eye doctor for a new glasses prescription. He noted that I had dry eyes. I said, "Yes, I use a dry-eye drop every morning & that's usually good for the rest of the day, except for a few unusually-windy & dry days; then I use a few more drops.
He tried to convince me to have a surgical procedure that moves the tear ducts so they wet the eyes more.
I said, "If the lubricant drops are working without any risk, why should I have a surgery that entails risk?"
He got very upset & rushed me out without completing the Rx exam.

And, it's not limited to MD's. I had been seeing a dentist for several years - he did $11,000.00 worth of crown replacement & 5 root canals. And I sent my whole family to him.
After I chipped a front crown, he tried to convince me to replace SIX crowns at $1,350.00 each "so the color would match."
I told him it wasn't necessary because the color is matched when a digital photo of the other teeth is given to the lab. Of course, he had to agree. It wasn't just the money; there is a lot of grinding & trauma involved & he was willing to put me through that to make more money.
I never saw him again. I couldn't trust him.
 
There are too many patients and not enough doctors. Our surgery allows just 10 minutes for each appointment, so everything is rushed. Plus, the drug companies rule, so you are given pills when very often, alternatives, such as a change of diet would be more appropriate.
 
We'd been with the same Dr. for 20 years , a true gentleman , and very caring . He retired around 3 or 4 years ago , and his replacements..........as described above , brief abrupt and certainly not the least friendly .
 
i use a dentist who lives over 5,000 miles away...lol...she is a friend of many years and we are in contact via whatapp most days
but doctors, well they are in a downward spiral, it is their ambition to be like American doctors instead of National Insurance driven..
now my GP has to declare his balance sheet...and his declared salary from our Practice is £1750 a WEEK, he has two Practices, so one presumes he gets the same salary there...
my worse experience with a doctor was a number of years ago, i have been treated for Prostate Cancer for almost fifteen years, i had it decored around seven years ago, and it was under surveillance since, now they are about to start Radiotherapy, but during the surveillance part of the treatment, i had to travel into the nearest city, which is Sheffield, now i hate driving in any city so i use public transport, which is not a quick way to travel, i walk a mile to the rail station, get the train to sheffield, then another short walk to catch the bus, the bus takes me to the hospital, but the trip has taken about ninety minutes but that is my choice, i admit that, anyway on the day in question when i got there the Receptionist apologised that the surgery was running one hour late, now this dont upset me it is a hospital and doctors have surgery to perform as well as consulting with us out-patients... well an hour and a half later [remembering i am now into three hours of my trip, i get called in, the nurse shows me into a treatment room and perhaps fifteen minutes later the door is basically flung open this thirty-odd year old blond man comes striding in [i should point out here that seven days before i had gone to my local hospital for a blood test, the results of which this galloot was now reading there in front of me] "mmm yes mm ok yes, well you blodds are all ok so we will see you next year" on that he turned on his heel and left me sat on the treatment couch... he went out leaving the door open and i heard him say to the nurse "thats the way to do it, wham, bam, thank you mam, NEXT" i was not able to leap off the couch, but i did get up quicker than normal, when i went out the nurse smiled up at me "where did he go" i asked, the colour drained from her face realising i had heard.. "oh erm hes gone off duty" i knew she was lying so headed home, when i got home i got in my car and drove the nine miles to my own doctors.. when i eventually got to see him i did a bit of a rant reminding him the our heath providers are NHS and the S is for service, and i am not there for any doctors convenience, quite the opposite, and i was registering a professional complaint against the idiot i had seen that morning... it had taken me around five hours and taken him less than five minutes to dismiss me, why could he not have seen the report the day before and got a nurse to phone me that i had no need to attend, now THAT would have been a service.... i was fuming... a week later a got a letter from Sheffield referring me back to the Doncaster Royal Infirmary... in other words 'UP YOURS'
 

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