Seven Signs It’s About Time to Get A New Doctor Reported By Scottsdale CareGiver
What to do if your medical professional isn’t listening to you or the person you’re caring for, not carrying out your requirements regarding your treatment and prescription options, or suggesting prescriptions or treatments that appear inappropriate for senior patients. Listed below are several illustrations.
Your affiliation with the medical doctor should be a special one and has to be taken seriously. Many times senior citizens aren’t receiving enough care and attention from their doctor. Is your medical professional busy and overscheduled, or there just may be a personality mismatch. In any case don’t be afraid to shop for a new one if you sense you aren’t receiving the attention and care you may need.
Whenever senior citizens go to their physician it is a terrific plan to take along an advocate, a professional CareGiver or a trusted family member. It will serve you well to have someone else there to make sure you understand everything the medical doctor says and if you need to find more complete information from the physician, the advocate can facilitate. Every so often it is a lot easier for the another person to ask in depth questions.
As an example a medical professional may try to make you feel guilty when you ask to do away with a medication or a procedure from your regimen. You may have prescriptions from a number of doctors and they may conflict with each other. Doctors may be hesitant to stop a medication prescribed by another doctor.
But sometimes the problem does not lie within your control; what’s wrong is that the medical professional isn’t listening to you or not taking your loved one’s age or situation into account when making medication and treatment decisions. In many cases, it’s like a bad relationship; communication has broken down and you, your family member or CareGiver aren’t getting what you need.
Here are seven indications that it could be time to "break up" with your physician:
1. You feel the health professional blames, ignores, or criticizes you or the person in your care
2. The physician does not reply to your feedback, or becomes defensive
3. It seems the health professional is not taking your pain or other symptoms seriously enough
4. You discover treatments that could help that the health professional hasn’t told you about
5. The health professional doesn’t explain treatment options clearly, resulting in mistakes
6. The doctor prescribes medications without comparing to medications prescribed by another doctor.
7. The physician is reluctant to organize your prescription list when it comes from a variety of other medical doctors.
When you are dissatisfied, the best thing to do is to change your doctor, and change to one you can get along with to provide the best care. Physicians regularly say that if a patient is going to change doctors, they’d appreciate hearing it directly rather than suddenly receiving a sneak request for medical records to be sent to another physician. However, it’s your prerogative to find a new physician and ask the staff to fax over the request for records. You’re not obligated to engage in another confrontation.
Either way, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief once you’re dealing with a medical professional who listens respectfully, answers your questions, accommodates your requests, takes your symptoms seriously, and works with you to develop a treatment plan you can all feel terrific about.
In the Phoenix, AZ area Care-To-Go offers Elder Home Care services and can assist you with doctor appointments and prescription organization. Contact Care-To-Go at 1-800-818-0407 or Care-To-Go.com For Elder Travel Companion services see CareToGoTravel.com.
