9 Signs You Should Fire Your Doctor

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I live in a small rural community. We simply do not have enough doctors. My dpctor of 15 years closed his pracitce last year. Since then I have seen a couple doctors. One was condescending, too interested in what they don't do than in patient needs, and just about was rude to my mother and me at my third visit. I have since located another doctor, who is milder but not available, has some opinions I do not agree with and has failed to treat a family member and set up a horrid painful experience. What are we to do? I am in need of back surgery. I need to find the right doctor and hospital or surgical center. How do I find one?

CK of CO 2:52PM November 13, 2011

I suggest that somewhere in the article there should have been advice re: a moment for self-assessment if you find that you have changed doctors more than 2-3 times based on the checklist above. E.g. #3 Keeping you in the dark; it is simply impossible to provide a medical education during a 15 minute office visit, ergo "your satisfaction" needs to be realistic/reasonable. Similarly, #6 "wonder about his competence, but don't know why." If you have trust or control issues, changing doctors is not the solution. And #9 Rude or Condescending: the first question that jumps out is, "how old is the daughter?" The second is "how long and how productive was the conversation that the doctor "rudely" ended? If the daughter is a competent adult, this conversation was inappropriate to begin with. As noted under #3 and #6, if mom's concerns had been answered repeatedly or mom wanted a medical education that she had not scheduled time to receive, the physician may have had little choice, but to end the visit in the abrupt manner described in order to see other patients in a timely manner. Respect in any relationship should be a two-way street.
It's a good list - but it is worth remembering that the patient doctor relationship is a relationship. Just sayin' :-)

Think About It of WV 9:24AM September 13, 2011

There are just as many female doctors. It would have been nice to see her instead of he next to a couple of numbers.

susan fleischman of OR 1:01PM August 22, 2011

There are some She's that should be fired too! 8^O

Robert Cox of WA 10:22AM August 04, 2011

Watch for doctor being closed Friday and Saturday the traditional abortion hours. Dr.s doing abortions have gotten used to treating patients without disclosure of risks, improper sanitation of facility and instruments and pooor quality staff.

fnd of CA 3:39PM July 30, 2011

Closed Fridays andFriday afternoons and Saturday Mornings. These are the traditional abortionist hours. Only the lesast qualified doctors with the lowest standards about ceanliness, nurse quality and full disclosure to patients would get within a mile of a planned parenthood or worse. Pathetic what has happened to the Sabbath, isn't it?

Norman of CA 3:33PM July 30, 2011

I was quite turned off by the care of a particular physician when I had mentioned to him about my problem with slow urination. He asked me if it bothered me and I said no. He then said that I should be OK then. I wasn't upset at the time but 6 months later when I mention my problem to another physician, he referred me for tests. Which it was discovered that I had prostate cancer. It would be nice to find doctors that take the time to be thorough with your care. Thanks to Dr. Christian Deleidon, I was able to have the treatment I needed to help cure me of prostate cancer. It is nice, that when going to the doctor, they are actually capable of making the proper choices in your heath care. Thank You, Northwest Family Physicians and Dr. Deleidon.

BRIAN REYNOLDS of MN 3:11PM July 30, 2011

A doctor dispenses advise just like a mechanic, plumber,electrician,etc. As a patient I am allowed to follow the advise or not.
Certainly rude or belligerent patients can be corrected and warned of cessation of the relationship because of unacceptable manners. Doctors and their staff should not have to endure abuse.

Laura of Cleveland,OH of OH 8:59AM July 29, 2011

Come on people, its a "top 10" list (well 9 signs, but the same principle...)
Yes getting good health care may be an unrealistic expectation if you live in the United States and are not, well, rather wealthy but with the exception of time constraints each and every one of those points is a valid concern. If they occur on rare occasions, well Doctors are busy and nobodies perfect so I wouldn't be too concerned. But if the pattern is consistent by all means, look for another Dr. It's your life after all that is impacted here.
In regards to the "doctor was paid all of $30-50 to see me" aspect, I understand this is generally the case, but I have to pay that much out of pocket to see my primary care physician as a co-pay in addition to whatever the (so called Cadillac) health insurance plan (that I pay nearly a grand a month for) pitches in, which based on paperwork I get back from them is usually a significant chunk for my 7 to 15 minute visit. Where's the disconnect? Besides, even if the Dr
As for the "HE" statements. Angela clearly stated in the first paragraph: " (For simplicity, the references below are to male doctors, but men don't have a monopoly on unacceptable behavior.)" So all the complaints on that front are either people not reading or peaple disagreeing with the author's choice on how to approach a gender issue that is not really relevant to the article as a whole.

Anonymous coward of OR 6:22PM July 27, 2011

As a family doctor in private practice for over 10 years, I think I need to see someone after reading this article.
I'll wait for at least 30 minutes in a thin gown. I won't get all my questions answered. I might be rushed out of the room. We might not "connect". And, horrors! - I might not get a Skype number or be able to text message him (or her, of course) when my teeth itch at 4AM.
And why? Because the doctor was paid all of $30-50 to see me - if that much. Just do some simple math: after 11 years of higher education, I don't think I'm being unfair to require earning $250-300 per hour just to keep my office staff employed, rent paid, and still have enough to barely make a decent salary (which is still far below the market rate for my services). How many patients do I have to see per hour to do this?
Believe me, we don't do this for the money, yet we still have to keep the business running. We would like to think that our patients respect and appreciate what we do try to accomplish for them with the resources we're given. Now that I'm burdened with an even greater administrative role helping you get all the services you need paid for - have you required a prior authorization lately? - it's an absolute joke that we would be criticized for not providing enough psychosocial support for our patients.
Sorry, but someone decided that to control healthcare costs, these aspects of healthcare are no longer "medically necessary". Somebody did a study that showed I don't need to be on time, friendly, or explain everything to cure you. Just take the (generic) pill and wonder what happens to all of your premium dollars, because they certainly aren't going to your primary care "quarterback" for all those calls made to your specialists.
So to the author - what a shame. You just made my life even more difficult. I'd love to be able to do everything you said, but not when I have to see a patient every 10-15 minutes just to survive. The doctors who can accomplish what you describe in my area charge annual fees of $12,000 and don't accept insurance (yes that $12k is just for access, not for any services). Is that the model we think will work for our entire country?
Or do we just want as much as we can take from someone else (in this case, your doctor) without paying extra for it? If that's how you feel, please, try to find another doctor. And good luck finding one who meets these impossible criteria.
PS. I'm not a curmudgeon either - at least not according to Yelp. Nor is my practice a "factory" (we call them 'patient mills'). If I didn't care, I wouldn't comment.
PPS. I'm comforted by the other comments that reassure me at least some of you understand what we go through. Thank you for these.

A Family Doc of CA 3:21PM July 27, 2011