How to get good healthcare, Part I

Your doctors may work in the service industry, but in their minds the customer isn’t always right:

How well your doctor takes care of you is very much a factor of you. As it turns out all doctors treat all patients differently. You want this. You are different from the next patient, even if you have the same problem. You want care individualized.

Your doctor (here to fore I will refer to doctors in the masculine as much of what follows is pejorative and when discerning betwixt genders, the chivalrous demean the stronger sex) has been trained, not only in medical school but in the entirety of his socialization, to identify certain characteristics and make judgments about them – subconsciously or otherwise. He will judge you and contextualize your problem. This allows for a better understanding of your health problems. Take for example chest pain. The high school girl applying for college, chest pain is almost invariably stress related. Chest pain in her 70 year-old grandfather on the other hand is a heart attack until proven otherwise.

Contextualizing allows fluid conversation. One speaks differently to a child than to the elderly, or differently to a hipster than to a jock. Your doc will make simple, social judgments about you. Unfortunately these judgments and contextualizations may undermine the care you receive. His judgments will influence how much time they spend with you and their investment in your wellbeing. Frankly if he likes you - or at least identifies with you as a person - your doctor is more likely to give you high quality care.

Think about it from your persective. If you worked as a server in a restaurant (your doctor works in the service industry!) what would influence you to invest yourself in your customer? If you thought the customer at table 8 was cute, perhaps they’d get a free dessert. Maybe you would want them to be friendly and open. You certainly wouldn’t want them argumentative or defensive. If you had to actually touch them or get your nose close to them, you would want them to smell nice. Fashion statements aside, clean clothes are always a plus.

Coming are a few guidelines for getting good healthcare. Most of which are directed toward an Emergency Room visit. By law, patients cannot be turned away from the ER. They have to see you and here are a few ways to make your stay more fruitful.