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Being All Things
To All People
It can’t be done ... Medicine has become a depository for a voluminous amount of knowledge. It’s estimated that Medical
School Graduates of 2000 had to learn fifty times the volume of information as the same Graduates did in 1950. What’s more
ominous is that only 10-15% of the knowledge learned then, still holds true now. This is a dynamic field, one that requires keep-ing
up with the data, sorting poor studies from well-done studies, and reviewing guidelines constantly.
Modern medicine has lost its edge in
today’s society for 2 reasons:
(1) Failure to communicate with the
patient. Few practices take the time to
explain why the patient should take “X”
drug, or stay away from “Z” food. Doctors’
instructions nowadays are considered
mere suggestions. Communication is also
“HOW” you say what you are trying to
get across to the patients. Any condescen-sion
or arrogance on the part of the MD
contributes to a patient’s non- compliance
as well as a patient.
(2) The patient is now a “consumer,”
rather than a “patient.” If the consumer
brings 6 items to the “5-items-or-less”
line... he is told to get rid of some com-plaints
or move to a different line. The
patient has become depersonalized.
The end result is that the patient feels
marginalized, disconnected, and distant
from his physician. Studies show that
patient compliance goes down when the
doctor fails to take the time to explain his
reasons to patients. Thus... patients do not
follow instructions well.
At Wilmington Internal Medicine, we have
set limits as to how many patients a provider
can see per day; physicians are limited to 25,
the PAs are limited to 20. Our patients get
copies of their lab work. Results are explained.
We attempt, at every opportunity, to answer
whatever questions a patient may have.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM