by a patient
I am in my mid-50s, and I remember a more personalized and team-oriented approach to health care.
Maybe that is why I am so angry, confused and hurt over the way I am now being treated.
Let me explain: In the 1980s and 1990s, when I had my four children, I had a wonderful health care team (doctor/midwife practice.) When I called my doctor's office, a real live person answered the phone and she knew me by name. When I came into the office for prenatal checkups, I was invited to weigh myself, then do my own urine test and record the results. If any issues of concern came up, my doctor would sit down at his desk, in his office, and have a full-on conversation with me about the implications and the options.
I was expected to make my own decisions about my health care with the input and advice of my medical team— and we were a team, this was not a dictatorship. I was comfortable with this practice and stayed with them for many years until I moved away. I spent years searching in vain for a physician like the one I used to have. I tried a few practices based on recommendations, but found that doctors were now taking the "hands-off" approach to their patients. If labs indicated a condition that required attention, an MA would call and inform me that, "Dr. So-and-So has ordered this test or that medication."
If I questioned it or wanted more information directly from the doctor, I would be told, "Dr. So-and-So doesn't speak with patients about test results."
Well then, that isn't the physician for me! I called other practices and asked if I could come in for a paid consultation, just to meet with the physician and see if he or she shared my health care philosophy. To this I got answers like, "Dr. So-and-So doesn't do meet-and-greet. You have to select him as your primary physician before you can get in to see him."
Even though I was willing to pay out of pocket, if necessary, to find a practice in which I was an equal health care partner, I was unable to book a single appointment in which I could interview the health care provider to see if he or she met MY needs. As a result, I began to let my regular health care routine slide, as I had no physician I trusted or felt comfortable with. I resorted to Urgent Care for the occasional illness, and otherwise avoided doctors altogether.
Now, I belong to a managed healthcare system which is what I am forced to use to comply with the ACA. As I'm getting older, I continue to live a healthy lifestyle (I don't smoke, don't drink alcohol or sodas, eat very little sweets or junk food, exercise five days a week), yet I still struggle with conditions like high cholesterol, elevated blood pressure and weight gain after menopause. Staying healthy is more challenging than ever, and I am seeking support in managing these conditions with the least amount of pharmaceuticals.
At my most recent appointment, a very young doctor who had never met me before, and knows nothing about me whatsoever, informed me, "Your conditions are due to your lifestyle. You need to lay off the sweets and get some exercise."
Well, I rarely eat sweets (I don't have a sweet tooth at all) and I regularly exercise, which I've done all my life. When I explained this, she nodded her head in a way that clearly conveyed her contempt and disbelief. She was probably remembering her medical school training that, "all patients lie about their lifestyle habits," and dismissed what I was saying.
The message I walked away with after this last appointment was, "You have brought all this on yourself, and you deserve what you got." Even if that was true, I don't see where a doctor should judge and shame patients for their health. To her, I am just Non-Compliant Patient #12345 (at this practice we check in with our Patient ID number, not our name, and if we call for any reason, we deal with an automated system that asks for our number.)
A visit to the facility makes me feel like I am on a conveyor belt—identified by a number, herded into a common hallway to await a summons to the inner office, processed, then left to follow the signs back out to the hallway. No greeting when we come in, no greeting when we leave.
To illustrate the point further, a few weeks ago I took my sick dog to the vet after making an appointment with a live person who spoke to me by name. The next day, the vet called me personally to ask how my dog was doing. He spent at least twenty minutes on the phone explaining the lab results, what they meant, what the treatment options were and empathizing with my dilemma. He urged me to call him back directly if I had any more questions. In other words, my dog now gets better healthcare than I do.
