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Keys to a Successful Doctor's Appointment
Visiting Mayo Clinic | Last Active: Oct 4 10:56am | Replies (57)Comment receiving replies
From my perspective, doctors are not in the customer service business. I think of it as a business transaction, and in business transactions, the best way to have a successful outcome is to speak in a way that resonates with them. Should the other party (doctor) also try this? Sure but in the end it is me who wants something of them, so I have to go that extra mile and try, not always successfully, to build that relationship , just like in business.
I would also caution throwing around the Hippocratic Oath, as the easiest way to do no harm is to do nothing at all, i.e. not accept you as a patient which is becoming all the more common these days.
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I find that to be a narrow view of professions. By that definition, you’d have to learn how to speak legalese, tax, or actuarially, in order to get an attorney, accountant, or actuary to help you. Instead, those professions listen to their clients, do their research, and figure out a way to talk to their clients about it. Doctors shouldn’t be any different.
And doing nothing is doing harm for people who need care and are prevented from it because a doctor is unwilling to investigate or spend time learning about something about which they are unfamiliar.
Finally, people with CFS/Fibromyalgia/Lymes and other “mystery illnesses” have been fighting for respect for years, so these expectations aren’t new.