February 10th, 2009

Today the Patriot-News published an op-ed by Mechanicsburg physician Dr. Nirmal Joshi, who says that patients need to be more proactive in discussing their care with their doctors.

Dr. Joshi writes:

“Patients often accuse physicians of not spending enough time and “blowing off” valid suggestions. Physicians, on the other hand, burdened by a barrage of new information and pressures from stakeholders (patients, insurances, lawyers, regulatory bodies) struggle to balance these demands and might sometimes come across as impatient and insensitive. It is no surprise that the average American health care consumer is unhappy with the quality of health care provided.

…

New information gets published daily, making it nearly impossible to stay fully current. In 1992, it was estimated that an average Internal Medicine doctor would need to read 17 articles every day during the entire year to stay current. The smart clinician is one who knows how to access the right information at the right time and knows when to say “I don’t know,” a phrase I am learning to say more.

As physicians and the entire health care system struggle with various pressures, one factor is unlikely to change: the critical importance and power that the patient has in his/her care. This reality is vastly underestimated by most health care consumers.”

Read the entire op-ed in the Patriot.