Tag: doctor patient communication

Six rules for navigating your next doctor’s appointment

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

A beautifully-dressed older woman with beautifully-coiffed hair raises one beautifully-manicured hand during the Q&A portion of my Heart-Smart Women presentation. She stands and asks aloud:

“Carolyn, my doctor told me I have a heart rhythm problem. What does that mean?”

What she wants is for me to explain to her what her doctor has not. But what I want to do is to grab her by her beautifully-clad shoulders and shake her, very hard. How is it possible, I wonder, that such an articulate, well-trotted-out woman doesn’t know what her own diagnosis means, and, worse, hasn’t gone back to her doctor to find out? How can she be capable of making decisions about her expensive wardrobe, hairstyle and nails, yet somehow still be incapable of staying on top of the most important thing she owns: her heart health?

Sadly, she is not alone.  A 2008 study of women over 40 done by The Federation of Medical Women of Canada called the LIPSTICK Survey reported that women spend more time thinking about their weight than they do about their hearts. And only 10% of women surveyed knew their personal heart disease risk factors versus the 64% of women who know how much they weighed in high school! Continue reading “Six rules for navigating your next doctor’s appointment” →

The lost art of common courtesy in medicine

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 15 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

So I showed up for a scheduled medical test at the hospital the other day. It was one of those particularly distasteful tests that involve a full day’s prep at home choking down a range of hideous chemical cocktails, consumption of which is designed to induce explosive liquid diarrhea that requires staying very, very close to a toilet all day long. The procedure itself  on the following morning was right up there on the Creepy Disgusting Embarrassing Cringe Scale of medical experiences.

Hospital procedures like this feel invasive, uncomfortable, distressing, and revoltingly undignified for most patients. All the more reason that medical staff who administer such procedures need to start treating us like we’re more than just the nameless, faceless 10 o’clock patient in Bed 8, what I’ve previously described here as “the obstacle between them and their next coffee break, just a piece of meat on a slab – but worse, an invisible piece of meat.”

Call me crazy, but I might even go so far as to insist that patients deserve to be treated with common courtesy, and let’s start with the simple basics of saying something like:

“Hello. My name is _____ and I’ll be doing your ______  today.” Continue reading “The lost art of common courtesy in medicine” →

What heart patients can learn from cancer patients

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 12 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas   ♥  @HeartSisters

Cardiologist Dr. Richard Fogoros has issued this blunt warning to those at risk for developing heart disease:

“You need to change your life. If you don’t, you will suffer the consequences  – possibly decades earlier than is necessary.”

In his Heart Health Center column, he observed that most high-risk people end up making only half-hearted efforts to modify their heart attack risk.  And he blamed doctors for enabling this lack of personal accountability.  Continue reading “What heart patients can learn from cancer patients” →

Why are so many patients dissatisfied with their doctors?

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 13 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

If you sometimes feel like you don’t get enough respect from your physician, you may not be alone. In fact, two new global studies* from 23 countries show that two-thirds of patients around the world feel disrespected by their physicians – no matter which country they call home. For example, about one-quarter of patients surveyed complained that their physicians don’t answer questions, don’t involve them in treatment decisions, and use medical jargon with no explanation.

This appears to be a direct outcome of doctors not spending enough time with patients (44%).  About a third of patients also believe doctors show disrespect by not being punctual for appointments.  Continue reading “Why are so many patients dissatisfied with their doctors?” →