These 5 Habits Are Driving Your Doctor Crazy — And Putting Your Health At Risk
HuffPost
While it’s unlikely to be your intent, some of these actions can come across as straight-up rude to your doctor.
Most people visit the doctor to help get or stay healthy. But health care providers can only work with the information you present to them. If you’re dealing with a chronic health issue, the last thing you want to do is undermine a doctor’s efforts to help you get well.
“It’s so important to have a good doctor-patient relationship because the more your doctor knows you and your health, the better your care can be,” said Dr. Zachary Bittinger, a clinical assistant professor of family and community medicine at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. “But healthy relationships have boundaries. Making sure that you understand your doctor’s boundaries and your doctor understands yours is a core piece of it.”
With that in mind, we asked primary care physicians how patients might unintentionally interfere with their own care and what kind of behavior impedes a good doctor-patient relationship. Here’s what they shared.
You’ve predetermined your diagnosis and aren’t open to your doctor’s expertise.
Doctors are aware that you’ve probably already looked up your symptoms online to try to get some sense of what you could be dealing with ― especially if you’ve been trying to get a proper diagnosis for a long time. Many patients experience medical gaslighting, and sometimes the only way to take back control is to do the research yourself.
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