Trust in medical profession?

My doctor was in private practice, is nearing retirement and last year joined the hospital group. I think it was all about money. A procedure that would have been handled in one visit in the past now required five visits and did not turn out all that well. I think at this point it is about money.
 
It is an industry, an institution, a corporation. There are some dedicated medical professionals in the industry but they answer to the corporation. Nurses seem to have more compassion, and they do most of the work anyway, especially all the hard and unpleasant stuff. Some are not so empathetic and do little more than they have to do. You are fortunate if you find a good one. I have stories to tell.
 
I find that physicians tend not to listen adequately to the patientā€™s concerns, but rather pursue their own agenda, and have their own orientations and biases, which are often reductionistic rather than holistic. They tend to see a patient as their conditions and problems rather than as an entire interactive human being. I also think that medical tests tend to be ordered excessively, perhaps to cover their own backsides against litigationā€¦šŸ©ŗšŸ’Š
 
My primary care physician is a former R.N. She became an Osteopathic Physician, and we get along famously. She is brilliant and listens to everything you say. She respects the fact that I too was an R.N. and we speak the same language. My Pulmonologist, Orthopedist and Sports Medicine doctors, while allopathic physicians, do listen, and we generally agree on each course of treatment.

Yes, I trust my medical professionals.
 
jlhog said:
Do you trust your doctor is looking out for you or the medical group they work for to make more money?
Click to expand...
I know I'm in the UK... but my Doctors are definitely not looking out for their patients.. those days are long gone.. we can barely get them to work for more than 3 days at a time.

The terrible thing is we're not permitted to change Doctors out of our area.. and in our area the other Doctors' surgeries won't take anyone who is already registered with another Doctors practice within the area, so we're stuck...

It takes a month to see a doctor unless it's a dire emergency, and then we're in and out again before our backsides have a chance to heat up the seat..
 
Last edited:
Fyrefox said:
I find that physicians tend not to listen adequately to the patientā€™s concerns, but rather pursue their own agenda, and have their own orientations and biases, which are often reductionistic rather than holistic. They tend to see a patient as their conditions and problems rather than as an entire interactive human being. I also think that medical tests tend to be ordered excessively, perhaps to cover their own backsides against litigationā€¦šŸ©ŗšŸ’Š
Click to expand...
Well said and so true. They train for a specialty and they tend to look at you according to the narrow focus of that viewpoint.
 
hollydolly said:
I know I'm in the UK... but my Doctors are definitely not looking out for their patients.. those days are long gone.. we can barely get them to work for more than 3 days at a time.

The terrible thing is we're not permitted to change Doctors out of our area.. and in our area the other Doctors' surgeries won't take anyone who is already registered with another Doctors practice within the area, so we're stuck...

It takes a month to see a doctor unless it's a dire emergency, and then we're in and out again before our backsides have a chance to het up the seta..
Click to expand...
Well we know we have our issues over here in spades, but the system in the UK might be breaking down into a sinecure for first-line health care professionals there.

There is no perfect way for any system to self-regulate against their inherent pitfalls. We each end up with a core system based on a given philosophy and then hope to moderate the rough edges and traps through government regulation. As soon as politicians get involved though another whole dimension for neglect and abuse can open up, especially when oversight interferes with or advances political agendas.
 
Well it sounds like a world wide issue. Most of the time when I go see my primary care doctor, he will just send me to a different doctor that may or may not specialize in something. Several years ago I had a severe cough that lasted a couple years. I probably saw half dozen doctors and ENT's.
Their diagnosis was chronic cough and take this nasty couch medicine. I was getting upset and started researching and it came down to my blood pressure medication. I told my doctor I will not take it anymore and we switched to something different. Bam my cough of years went away. I don't even want to know how much all the doctor visits cost but when the number one side effect of those meds was a cough, why did I need to figure it out. I also had a doctor tell me flat out to stay off the internet because I was questioning what he was telling me. I dropped him and found someone different, but necessarily better.
I will start seeing a new doctor in a few weeks. My insurance changed due to retirement and I hope this guy is decent. I really had no choice as he was one of a few accepting new patients within 50 miles of where I live.
 
I have 3 doctors I go to. They have done well by me. My PCP, Rheumatologist and Orthopedic have all steered me in the right direction. I feel good. My family doctor retired, so I started going to my PCP when I was on active duty. We became friends, go out for dinner with our wives and play golf together occasionally.
 
Since my husband died in October, I've felt less confident with our PCP. She had detected plaque in his heart months before he died so she put him on a medication to lower the risk of stroke. I read that if plaque breaks off an artery, a blood clot can form and block the flow of blood. I wondered why she never sent him to a cardiologist to be evaluated. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference and the outcome would have been the same, but.....what if?
 
jlhog said:
Do you trust your doctor is looking out for you or the medical group they work for to make more money?
Click to expand...
It depends. It really depends on the doctor. At my age, I am sooooo cautious about up-selling from anyone. I so very much worry that depending on what business owns the medical group or hospital, God help us, they are teaching doctors and other medical professions to upsell. We, AARP members, we need to raise a big stink about this with our nation's representatives. Problem is, too many people don't know this is what is happening behind the scenes - our for-profit medical system is being encouraged to make more profits.
 
Last edited:
Quite a few years ago, maybe 20, there were local news stories about dentists and dental groups increasing profits by giving children, LITTLE KIDS, caps instead of filling cavities. They were often Medicaid patients. Since Medicaid for kids paid so little, these horrible dentists would tell the parents, who usually didn't know any better, that the best thing would be to cap those teeth, even baby teeth.

Now our local news doesn't do that kind of investigative reporting anymore.

I saw a little 9-year-old girl like this once. Gold caps over her molars. I wanted to cry when I saw that. Wanted to drop everything, call her parents and tell them they have an evil dentist.

Old people, the ignorant, and children; we are the most vulnerable members of society in many ways.
 
In 6 years, I have been to 5 docs discussing a pretty nasty sinus issue. The issue began when I went on oxygen and nebulizer meds 10 years ago. The last one was an ENT specialist, who ran a scope through my nose and declared yep, pretty irritated in there. THEN this educated idiot went on to discuss how everyone should have their colon scoped too, and could NOT get back on track. I still have the sinus issue...
Then there's the pulmonoligist who wants everyone in her sleep study because it makes her money, even when there are no sleep issues, but can't eve be bothered to keep up with prescriptions.
No, not much faith in doctors any more.
 
sailormann said:
It is an industry, an institution, a corporation. There are some dedicated medical professionals in the industry but they answer to the corporation. Nurses seem to have more compassion, and they do most of the work anyway, especially all the hard and unpleasant stuff. Some are not so empathetic and do little more than they have to do. You are fortunate if you find a good one. I have stories to tell.
Click to expand...
You should tell your stories to the Medical Board or your members of Congress. Seriously. If someone has seriously harmed you, tell the stories at Yelp. Nothing will change unless we speak up.
 
The quality of medical care in the US has taken a severe nosedive thanks to it being dictated by insurance companies and drug companies.

Then there is a glut of personnel who entered the field because of the few career choices left to choose from in the US. Not sure that they would have gone into it otherwise.

Then there are an overwhelming number of practitioners from foreign countries who work cheap and insurance companies love them for that reason.

If I can't walk or breathe or am in some other way unable to function normally, I'll go to the doctor. Otherwise, I avoid going to just get a checkup and have preventative medicines prescribed.
 
Fyrefox said:
I find that physicians tend not to listen adequately to the patientā€™s concerns, but rather pursue their own agenda, and have their own orientations and biases, which are often reductionistic rather than holistic. They tend to see a patient as their conditions and problems rather than as an entire interactive human being. I also think that medical tests tend to be ordered excessively, perhaps to cover their own backsides against litigationā€¦šŸ©ŗšŸ’Š
Click to expand...
Oh My God - the biases I have faced in the medical profession. I will not elucidate because that would require saying too much personal information, but holy heck, now I know if I meet any new doctor, "Here is another hill to climb describing my symptoms and experiences."
 
hollydolly said:
I know I'm in the UK... but my Doctors are definitely not looking out for their patients.. those days are long gone.. we can barely get them to work for more than 3 days at a time.

The terrible thing is we're not permitted to change Doctors out of our area.. and in our area the other Doctors' surgeries won't take anyone who is already registered with another Doctors practice within the area, so we're stuck...

It takes a month to see a doctor unless it's a dire emergency, and then we're in and out again before our backsides have a chance to het up the seta..
Click to expand...
In the States, if someone is on Medicaid (the government insurance plan for lowest income people), they are not allowed to go out of the county of their residence to seek care. E.g., if you live in Alameda County but you want to see doctors in San Mateo County and have your own transportation there, Medicaid will not allow that. WHY? Why is that a policy? IMO, it's a way to take rights away from the poor.

It can take three to four months to see a specialist here, regardless of your insurance, unless it is an E.R. worthy emergency. However, if you are in pain and you have a compassionate doctor, they will get you in for a test pretty quick to see what the pain is. Many pains can mean serious stuff. And of course, serous pain is also a good reason for an ER visit.
 
Colleen said:
Since my husband died in October, I've felt less confident with our PCP. She had detected plaque in his heart months before he died so she put him on a medication to lower the risk of stroke. I read that if plaque breaks off an artery, a blood clot can form and block the flow of blood. I wondered why she never sent him to a cardiologist to be evaluated. Maybe it wouldn't have made any difference and the outcome would have been the same, but.....what if?
Click to expand...
I'm sorry for your loss. You have a very valid question and at the very least, I would change PCPs if I were you.
 
oldaunt said:
In 6 years, I have been to 5 docs discussing a pretty nasty sinus issue. The issue began when I went on oxygen and nebulizer meds 10 years ago. The last one was an ENT specialist, who ran a scope through my nose and declared yep, pretty irritated in there. THEN this educated idiot went on to discuss how everyone should have their colon scoped too, and could NOT get back on track. I still have the sinus issue...
Then there's the pulmonoligist who wants everyone in her sleep study because it makes her money, even when there are no sleep issues, but can't eve be bothered to keep up with prescriptions.
No, not much faith in doctors any more.
Click to expand...
You can get nasal sprays for sinus trouble. I think you need to request a new ENT. There are OTC sprays too, like Flonase. But don't start using those without medical guidance because who knows? Might cause more irritation?
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top