Romancing the Patient
Is speed dating the surefire way to building a healthy doctor-patient relationship?
(Page 2 of 2)
My doctor unsmilingly whips out a couple of instruments to peek inside my ears and nose as I wondered, do I still need to be naked for this part? This was my first appointment with her, just a routine checkup during one of my short trips back home in between semesters. It had been a while since I had seen this office, or any doctor’s office for that matter—my last physician from the same practice had turned me off of my regular visits for the last few years. She had been a younger family physician who was chosen for me randomly from a list of names, who I had always felt uncomfortable with for her icy demeanor and terse, judgmental questioning.
But a few issues had finally brought me back to the exam room, back to a new doctor (who I had also chosen from a list). I felt tired all the time, more so than my college student peers—enough to make me worry. I had lost a lot of weight over the past few months, and with my already-small-to-begin-with frame, I wanted to make sure I was okay.
Even though the room remains mostly silent, the most noise coming from that rustling tissue paper that separated me from the beige leather of the table, no natural opening has presented itself to tell her about my concerns yet. So I keep my mouth shut while she jots notes down on my chart.
***
The program’s creators openly admit that Doc Shop is a marketing tool—a way to draw patients and good press to the hospital. Dr. Vallery has attracted six new patients with the event, and Dr. Sherif Rizkalla, a primary care physician who participated in the most recent Doc Shop, has added one. With two more events planned before the end of the year and lots of positive media coverage already out there, the program has been and will be a success in that regard.
Luckily for patients, Doc Shop is coming at a time where compatible relationships with doctors are especially important. “For the last twenty years there have been concerns from not only people who do research in this area, but even in medical schools, about the idea of patient-centered care,” says Street. Increasingly, he says, patients want to take a more active role in their relationships with doctors, to have a hand in making decisions about their own treatment.
Bedford resident Jennifer Mills, a former 911 call operator and stay-at-home mom, heard about Doc Shop through Facebook. She attended a Doc Shop event looking for a new primary care physician. Patients like Mills asked basic questions about hours, availability, basic treatment—but were also interested in the doctors’ philosophies on patient care. Would they listen? Were they willing to negotiate? And even, was the small talk good? Mills says she was especially drawn to a doctor if the conversation flowed easily and naturally. She came away from the event having narrowed down her choices to three doctors.
Critics of the program argue that five minutes is hardly enough to make a decision about such a serious relationship—and the doctors and creators agree. But the time interval was chosen so the event would last an hour, lunchtime convenience being one of its major selling points. And Dr. Vallery says that certainly a five-minute conversation is a better way to choose a doctor than selecting a name from a list of physicians who take your insurance.
As for the researchers, they acknowledge the value, even if it’s limited, of the event. “I think there’s only so much you can do in five minutes, but I think it’s a whole lot more than you can do just from seeing a name and a medical school. So I applaud the effort,” says Haidet.
To maximize the quality of care, the most important thing for patients to do, the researchers found, is this: Speak up. That the patient feels comfortable enough with their doctor to open up is essential—the study found that when patients asked questions of their doctor and took a more proactive role during their appointments, their doctors understood them better (as demonstrated by the survey results). “If we get patients to be more forthcoming about their worries, their beliefs, their fears, their opinions, their preferences, whatever, doctors are going to get a better read on where they’re coming from and then hopefully use that information to come up with a treatment plan better suited to that person’s circumstance,” says Street.
Street and Haidet agree that Doc Shop puts patients in a better position of finding a doctor with whom they can be honest, and, at the very least, gives patients the power of somewhat informed choice. “It’s a step in the right direction in terms of feeling comfortable with someone you’re starting a relationship with. It is not a panacea, it is not a solution to bad care, it is not a quick fix. It does get you starting off feeling better about your first visit. You know a little bit more about one another and that’s a good thing,” says Street. And Dr. Vallery says she believes the patients that came to her through Doc Shop do seem to be more open with than patients who found her name on a list.
“Doctors aren’t always very accurate judges of their patients’ health beliefs. They tend to think patients see things the same way they do. But when patients speak up, there’s a better opportunity to have a better understanding. Not that doctors are bad and ignorant, but just like anything, what is it we can do to help each other understand each other better? Talk,” says Street. “It’s a pretty simple idea.”
***
After another few minutes of prodding and peering, she rolls her metal stool briskly away from me with her feet. “You seem perfectly healthy, which at your age, doesn’t surprise me. Anything else?” my doctor asks, closing my chart and glancing at the clock. The appointment didn’t last nearly as long as I thought it would. But now was the time to tell her about my concerns. The tiredness, exhaustion, the weight loss… “Nope,” I say. “Nothing.” I thanked her and she left the room. I took off my bicycle gown and pulled my clothes back on. I wove through the hallways, back out through the waiting room, got in my car, and drove home.
***
“The good thing about Doc Shop is at least [patients are] not going into a situation where the doctor is a total stranger,” Street says. “The way the patient ought to think about it is this: At least I found someone, I initially think I’m going to like. I like their style, I like their smile, the way they talk to me.” With a new pool of doctors and patients, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano, with help from Doc Shop’s pioneer hospital, is planning on hosting its first doctor speed dating event next month.
Speed daters may come out ahead, but Doc Shop or not, patients have ways to improve the healthcare provided by their physicians. “There are things you can do to make that doctor a better doctor for you, and for that matter, you a better patient in your own care,” Street says. “A person’s ability to communicate, particularly the patient, can make doctors better.”
Vi-An Nguyen is a former intern with Texas Monthly and a senior at Northwestern University.
Pages: 1 2
My Library
