How Involved Should Patients Be?

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You are your best advocate when it comes to your medical care. Certainly, there are doctors with enough time to really understand you, and take the time necessary to evaluate, diagnose and treat your condition. However, those are rare.
No, I do not believe patients are always the best judge of their care. But, they do need to do their research; present their findings and be persistent in conveying specific health information that they believe is important to the outcome of their care. Seek second opinions; discuss options with family members; learn about alternative treatments.
Talk with specialists; review disease-specific journal articles; contact local or national medical society/association that address your condition; search for research trials through the FDA to learn about current treatment options. Find out how much experience your doctor has in treating your condition. Find out how many procedures he/she has performed. Do they participate in clinical research trials? Does he/she speak nationally to their colleagues and has he/she published articles on the subject.
I do believe we have passed the day when a patient just accepts "because my doctor said." Hopefully, we've moved to "my doctor said and I agree based on my research."
In the end, I think you have to be confident that you did everything you could to help your doctor help you. Or, maybe you did everything you could to help a family member or friend receive the best possible medical care.
All this plus prayer is how we survive.

Suzie R. of TX 11:09PM September 02, 2008

Yes, but.... I have had the experiences of: finding mistakes in prescriptions doctors have written for me; having two well reputed specialists in the same field make opposing treatment recommendations; having to push hard to convey details of my medical history that were very relevant but were not asked about by a specialist; finding more current information in medical journals and on respected health websites than my doctor was aware of and having that research change the doctor's treatment recommendation, etc.
This is not to say that patients know medicine better than their doctors. But it is to say that doctors are human too, are extremely busy, and have many patients to care for. I have the luxury of only having to focus on my medical concerns.
I think perhaps, "patient-centered care" is a misnomer and does a disservice to the health profession, which has been patient centered since its inception. Perhaps partnership is a better term -- one in which each partner appreciates the other's competencies and limitations, information sharing is two way, and true collaboration is seen as a key to success, for all parties.

Barbara Kivowitz of MA 6:25PM August 21, 2008

an uneducated patiennt is a dead patient. for 28 years i've lived with two massive heart attacks,lung disease, sugar diabetes,and sleep Apnea,plus a cracked vertebrae, arthritis of the spine,carpel tunnel,. my success at 76 years old is through education and Self -management but with very little help from the phoney NURSE PRACTITIONERS that are trying to replace REAL Doctors ,..Doctor Watchter is correct, i studied each Chronic Disease ,and now control them through self management. .through diet ,my blood sugar for the past year ,averaged 130. nice !EDUCATION,EDUCATION keeps one healthy.

Jack Angelo Territo of NY 2:17PM August 06, 2008