Posted on: Tue 31-12-2013

Today's post is written for doctors, not patients. I don't often address doctors directly, but you'll see in a moment why that's important for this post.

I have a great relationship with most of the doctors I've met. We have a mutual respect and great conversations. And there are many conversations -- I spend a lot of time talking to doctors. I meet them in person at conferences - or parties. I see and exchange information with doctors at Twitter and Facebook and other online venues. I interview them or ask them to help me understand something medical -- or sometimes we just chat.

And here's what I have found. The doctors who are willing to talk about patients and empowerment are usually quite open and forthcoming about their own experiences, good and bad. But few (if any) are willing to discuss their colleagues who don't treat patients well, who are disrespectful, or arrogant, or who just aren't doing their jobs.

When the point is raised, they either deny those bad doctors exist, they brush aside the conversation, or they make sure to mention the "few bad apples" and move on. But guess what, doctors.... your numbers of bad apples have begun to rot the rest of your barrel.

Why do I bring this up today? My colleague, Adrienne, who writes about chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia, posted a few days ago about an experience with a disrespectful doctor - and the numbers of comments to her post show that such disrespect, dismissiveness and arrogance is much more far-reaching than those doctors I talk to would like to think it is.  They are compounded by the comments about arrogant doctors made by readers right here at the patient empowerment site.

Yes, I do understand why the problem is growing and getting out of hand. As fair reimbursements are tougher to come by, doctors are becoming choosier about the patients they will care for.  Once a patient needs treatment that will take any more effort than the doctor assesses the reimbursement will cover, these rotten apples take steps to be sure that patient won't return.

Unfortunately, that behavior has begun to affect you all, doctors.  You see, the result of your denial, of refusing to acknowledge or talk about it, or DO anything about it, is that your patients are beginning to treat you based on the bad treatment they've received from your colleagues.  It's a vicious cycle. 99.9% of us patients begin with respect for our doctors. We maintain that respect until it is violated in some way. Then we begin to distrust all doctors, or at least it puts us on our guards.

Then, when we come to see you, doctor, you find a patient who is guarded, and is unwilling just to accept what you tell us.  We may come across to you angry or belligerent - not necessarily because YOU did anything wrong; rather, because your colleague did not treat us well or fairly. You won't listen to us or acknowledge the problems we've had - so we have no platform on which to trust you.  Then, because we learn we can't trust you either - we don't trust the next doctor we see... and so the vicious cycle continues.

How can we stop it?  How can we correct the course and reestablish trust between patients and doctors?

This post is a call-to-action. Doctors - it's time you take a stand and begin talking to your colleagues about their behavior. If a patient complains to you, then acknowledge (and clarify) the patient's complaint, and  share that complaint with your colleague. Don't allow your colleague to brush it off.  

The days of accepting arrogance, disrespect, poor behavior, and even worse - injury - from our physicians is gone, as far as we patients are concerned. We'll do what it takes to work with you to improve the situation - but we request (perhaps demand!) that you stop merely putting a lid on that barrel of apples.

Because the rotten ones are creating such a stench that it is affecting your career, and patients' lives

By T. Torrey

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