The Average Doctor Visit

Though I have not written about it here, in this latest reincarnation of DBD, it has remained a common theme in some of my writing. Mostly in my reviews or articles about medicine. In discussing the medical field it is hard to not come to the subject of the medical professional or the Doctor. The person who is in the role of helping another person who is sick, hurt, or otherwise suffering in some physical way. I have had a lot of experience with Doctors in my lifetime so I know what I'm talking about. This is not a case of reading and then writing.

In anybody's experience with a Doctor you will have different types of scenarios. You have the personal one on one visit in a clinical setting. You will have the visit in which you only see the nurse and then a "practitioner" of some type (usually because the real Doctor is too busy or does not care). Or you will have one of the various hospital style visits which are usually pretty uncaring. In all of these cases there is the exception.

I speak a lot of the negative experiences with medical professionals. Don't let that fool you into thinking that the positive does not exist because it does. Sadly however it is the exception, not the rule.

Now.. this could very easily turn into a very long rant about what I don't like about the medical profession or the typical Doctor's office visit. I did not intend to have this piece become an essay. I had a few things on my mind and I wanted to get them out there while I still possessed them. This is mainly about time. Time is a valuable commodity, especially today because so many different things are vying for ours.

When we visit the Doctor's office we are often advised to do various things to make it easier for the Doctor. If we do these things we will often get what we want simply because we molded our actions into something that fit what the office wants or needs. I say this is an incorrect way to act and a shame that people would advise others to become essentially a shy little introverted beggar.

There is one thing that we all must bear in mind when visiting the Doctor. They are charging us for the time that we spend with them. This means that we pay them for their services, and just like any other business that we pay for a service, we should be treated as a valuable commodity because we are. We are the customer even to the Doctor. I understand that in our society a Doctor for some reason thinks they deserve to be treated like royalty. Even though this is what our culture somewhat dictates, I think we should buck the system and they should treat us like royalty. After all, we pay their bills.

Just like with any other business on main street, the Doctors office is a place that we visit when we need to. But, just like any other business there are competitors on every street corner. Sure, many today are getting into the specialty fields because of insurance concerns but tell me you cannot find a doctor or two if you visit your downtown area of your town. I doubt it.

Point is they should be treating us differently and should be trying to find ways to bring us into their offices. We should not be trying to find ways to get the Doctor to help us more when we finally get 5 minutes alone with them. That is ridiculous. To think that after waiting over 30 minutes or more just to see the person for 5 minutes and get barely any help.. if that was any other business in town they would be out of business!

Consider this the next time you make an appointment with your primary care doctor. They will make you wait 2-4 weeks to see them and when you do you will show up early, but will be seen later than your appointed time. Yet if you were to show up late or miss the appointment, some doctors will charge you. You are charged huge amounts for anything ranging from $5 for a Tylenol to $15 for a 1 foot section of gauze. Your 5 minutes with the Doctor will cost you (or your insurance) at minimum $60 and when you leave can you honestly say that you have been helped? If you consider all of that and remain happy with the care and service you received at your last visit, then I guess you are the exception. However, chances are your visit will at least meet or exceed the above averages and if that is the case, we seriously need to re-think the medical profession in our country.