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Posted by Anthony Lee Aug 2, 2008 |
Decades ago, the public expressed high regard for the medical profession. Now, there is a shift in the public's attitude towards doctors, one learning on suspicion, frustration, and sometimes anger.
Patients are now researching medical information on the Internet, which can be a problem if the information is incomplete and not taken with a grain of salt. They are also bringing journal articles to their doctors. It's almost as if clinic visits are for questioning the doctor, not trusting the doctor's advice. Such patients often have expectations that their disease is perfectly curable with no side effects from treatment. On the other side, physicians are forced to see more patients in less time. Some also admit that their rigorous medical training focuses too much on technical details and little on interpersonal contact.
There is no doubt a rift in the doctor-patient relationship. There are many possible causes, but I like to point out one specifically: the media. I know from experience that medicine is an imperfect science. One should not assume disease to be 100% curable or treatments to be 100% safe and effective, but standard treatments still have a good chance of success. However, with news stories that tend to highlight the worse medical scenarios and the neatest medical breakthroughs, it's easy to forget that medicine is an imperfect science.
The solution to this is for all of us to work together. If doctors and patients take the time to understand the other side, then there won't be any needless tension. I myself am playing a role by constantly sharing with you what I know about medicine.