What your doctor is really thinking might shock you
A doctor’s time has always been a precious resource, so we need to make every minute count. But do we? To find out, Reader’s Digest interviewed doctors and compiled a list of their concerns. Then they commissioned a nationwide survey asking Canada’s doctors to give vent to their feelings and reveal what they’d really like to say to patients.
Here, we share the top 10 things your doctor wants you to know. Keep these tips in mind during your next appointment – and make sure you ask your doctor these questions!
1. “Be honest. If you’re not taking your medication as prescribed, tell me.”
Patients not taking their prescriptions? “It happens all the time,” says Dr. Armstrong Mettle of Saskatoon. Studies show that in Canada, 20 percent of prescriptions are never filled, and half of those that are filled are taken incorrectly.
Dr. Steve Chambers, a family physician and past president of the Alberta Medical Association, says: “Patients are sometimes afraid to tell doctors they have decided to follow another course of treatment or aren’t taking a prescription. They might have had a side effect and decided to go off it, and don’t want to hurt my feelings by telling me so.”
What you can do: Tell your doctor what you’re really doing. “To make sound decisions,” says Chambers, “the doctor needs as much information as you can provide.”
Related: Women in their 40s are falling through the cracks when it comes to anorexia. This is why.
