How do You Deal with Dangerous Doctor, Abusive Provider? Tips?

Hi all, I'd like to bring this discussion back on track. It is a action-oriented discussion on how patients can advocate for the care they need and deserve when facing challenges with a particular provider. Different health systems in different countries may have different mechanisms of recourse and offer different resources to help. Thus it can be useful to mention in which jurisdiction you receive health care.

This is not a place to discuss or dispute the merits of one juridiction's health care over another. Location, finances, mobility and other factors will all present challenges to getting good health care.

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2. Remain respectful at all times.
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For this reason, some posts have been removed or edited. Let us return to supporting one another as we each advocate to get good care for our health regardless of where we live.

I couldn’t agree more. I find doctors are greater partners in our health if we are fair about acknowledging what’s working for us. Heck, I don’t like being around people who are negative ALL the time. I think we have to help provide solution ideas, and most importantly, we have to be willing to work to achieve health improvement. That may include lifestyle changes and sacrifices. Healing doesn’t always come from a magical pill.

I always try to bring a list, hopefully a short list, of what I want to talk about during a visit. I may not remember everything so the list is helpful with that. I hate it when the appointment is done and something I considered important was skipped.
I find it is best to prioritize the list. Put the important stuff first. If you don't get to everything down the list at least it was the less important stuff that got skipped. Sometimes you can see stuff that doesn't really need to be on the list and that helps keep it short.
This also gives me a place to write down comments or answers to questions or at least some keywords from the discussion.

I was having cognitive problems post-COVID approx 18 months ago. I had to do the following in order to have a meaningful appt. It may be something someone else may need to do at some point.
I wrote down a list of symptoms+ problems. I just handed it to the Dr when he came into the room. He looked it over and he decided what to follow up with. It was the only thing I could do, but it worked best for the condition I was in. I was sleeping 12-18 hrs at a time, unsedated, w just water + BR awakenings most of the week at the time. My memory was unreliable+ almost absent. I put the notepad at bedside. I wrote down my problems in one or two words. The list was only one page w poor handwriting but this was my only "voice" at that time of my appt.
The Dr. decided what was important. Sometimes you have to let the Dr. make the priorities. Sometimes you need to do that yourself.

First of all, if a doctor exhibits abusive and unprofessional behavior toward you, be sure to document everything on paper and date it. I would get another doctor. You can report him/her to his superior if that applies and report him/her to your State Medical Board.

I agree, doctors can do great things. Without them many of us would not be here right now. I believe that having reasonable expectations when you see a doctor is really important. They are doctors but they can't fix everything and many times they need to make referrals. Referrals take time they don't happen right away. I know people can get so upset that they have to wait and wait, including me. I just think having reasonable expectations and you go to a doctor, and understanding that if something's wrong that that doctor doesn't specialize in, that you may have to see someone that does and that can take a little while for the referral to go through and to get in to see another doctor. I think we could all be a little more patient even though it's very hard when it comes to our own health and the well-being of our family members.
Angela

@dbeshears1 Debbie, this was in Medscape+ WSJ today. Hospitals are installing 'black boxes' in Operating Rooms. You were ahead of the curve!

"In an effort to improve performance, 24 hospitals in the U.S., Canada, and Europe are using the what's called the OR Black Box to gather detailed information about what goes on in operating rooms (ORs), the Wall Street Journalopens in a new tab or window reported.

Like the black box on an airplane, this system collects information that can be reviewed later, including video, audio, patient vital signs, and other data from devices in the room. The data can then be used to reduce errors, improve patient safety, and make OR processes more efficient. It also allows hospitals to try to figure out how an operation went wrong if there was an error.

Some OR staff were initially skeptical of a technology that they worried could be used against them, but the chief quality officer at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center told the Wall Street Journal that after staff were reassured about the data that would be collected and used, "it quickly became an accepted part of the hospital's culture."

Device maker Surgical Safety Technologies said the system blurs out faces to de-identify patients and personnel.

UT Southwestern Medical Center is using the system to understand what practices high-performing operating teams use. Duke University Hospital is using their black boxes to improve patient positioning and improve skin and nerve injuries. It's not yet clear whether or not the technology could be used in medical malpractice litigation."

I can understand the medical profession's initial skepticism re: malpractice, but I think malpractice is for cases of malicious intent, not "accidents", so they should be more comforted I hope (plus we patients sign releases).
I admit that my thinking came from recent news coverage; a patient reported a very reputable medical practice to the news because she found a camera in her exam room and was concerned about it, and they made a story of it. I felt bad for the medical practice because they had to explain & convince that the camera was disabled during her visit, that the reason it was there as a permanent fixture was because they're a teaching institution, and some things are recorded for educational purposes, especially during Covid when student access to medical facilities had to be limited; they further explained that there would be standard consent forms patients would sign in advance if they agreed to being recorded or having a student present during an exam. I felt bad that the complaint sounded like finding a camera in a department store dressing room.
That is what made me think "Why not?" Just hand the patient (or his representative) the remote control and tell them if they're comfortable with it, feel free to turn the camera on. But phrasing it as a black box is brilliant. Today we really need to keep medical costs down; lowering injuries & medical spending while improving efficiency & employee morale helps the medical system be profitable, and savings are passed down to patients through reduced medical premiums and better medical outcomes!

I got my wish that if I had surgery under general anesthesia it would be recorded. I love this idea. And is clearly for patient care improvement. How timely your discussion was tho.

My Dr also ignored my SE blood test for 7 yrs. A day b4 my 58 th birthday I got another dr to get that test done. Talking on the phone with him yesterday. He says my CT scan. Without dye. Never showed my kidney or UTETER stones. Nor my belly button hernia. Have had it for a year. I had to call Cancer Care Manitoba for my results. So now all my problems have disappeared!!! WOW! REALLY??!!
If you Have MGUS WHAT TYPES OF TREATMENT OR MEDICATIONS ARE YOU USING. ALSO HAS ANYONE HAD INFECTIONS?Constant. Starts like a small pimple. But it comes from inside pushing it’s way to the surface. Scars. Had so many antibiotics I stopped taking them. No Drs have ever told me what infection I have. EVER! On trigger points,nerves,face,legs. Oh pain in the legs. Lord help me!! Ok Thanks so much. Will be back to read and reply T