Are physicians disconnected from their patients?
Primary care physicians have a limited time to see each patient. In this video, HealthMaker Catherine Shanahan, MD, a family physician, shares how to make the most of your doctor visit so that you get the best possible health care.
Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] You don't wait. You don't need to build up a list. We love seeing you. Just come on in if you have acne.
You don't have to have acne and stomach upset and asthma. We'll take care of it. Come to us, first.
The issue of being a family physician now in this day and age where we are the care coordinators, we get records from specialists, from labs,
we have 15 minutes with our patients. They come in feeling like well, I have a family practice doctor.
This is my doctor. I have this doctor. I have this doctor's time as much as I want until I go through my list.
Nobody really understands, I feel, what a primary care doctor is. And so they wait until they get this list of problems,
then they make their appointment. It's 15 minutes because that's what insurance pays us for. We don't get that much money.
We have to pay office staff and overhead and malpractice. And so it's just a miscommunication.
I think if people understood that their primary care doctor, you don't wait. You don't need to build up a list. We love seeing you.
Just come on in if you have acne. You don't have to have acne and stomach upset and asthma. We'll take care of it.
Come to us, first. But come to us early because you're going to be frustrated if you come to us late
and you have all these questions. And we feel bad. We feel like I want to get to all your questions. I want to hear what you have to say.
I want to hear what's on your mind. But, on the other hand, in order just to cover the topic of acne, a dermatologist gets the full 15 minutes.
So it's not really possible to do it that way. [AUDIO LOGO]
health care
Browse videos by topic categories
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
ALL