So have you ever wondered what the biggest pet peeves for the doctor is? Here’s some tips so you don’t become one of “those patients”.
1. They don’t follow instructions
Either through forgetfulness, laziness or some unknown reasoning, patients come seeking the help of their physicians and then disregard all that they’re told. Whether it’s prescriptions that aren’t filled, medicines that aren’t taken for the full time prescribed or eating the food that you’ve told them not to, patients don’t always follow directions. This is the fastest way to have your doctor have steam coming out their ears y’all. The doctors HATE it when patients do this. It often makes doctors feel like they wasted their breath if your not going to follow their advice in the first place. They will make notes in your chart that you don’t follow instructions….and the insurance will get a copy of this note if the doctor says to send the note with the claim.
2. Looking for a quick miracle fix
Patients might be looking for specific drugs — like analgesics or psychotropics — rather than a real fix, or they might be looking for a quick fix to something that might take months — such as obese patients opting for surgery without even trying to lose weight. The biggest problem here, is that when it comes to prescribing medicine, some doctors don’t have the time and find it easier to succumb to the demand. If this is you, know this will flag you if you’re going from doctor to doctor. If the doctor thinks you’re doctor hopping for drugs, they will flag you so fast it would make your head spin.
3. Patients try to diagnose themselves
The internet is a wonderful place, but it does mean that there’s a lot more self-taught doctors out there. They might think they know what’s wrong with themselves because they Googled their symptoms before making the trip to their doctor. And sometimes their problem is a simple fix that they can handle on their own. But combating a self-diagnosed patient can be difficult — especially if the diagnosis is wrong. For some unknown reason, people think that by taking 45 minutes is the same as years and years of full time training. One of the funniest memes that medical coders have seen on Facebook was a sign posted in a doctor’s office saying “Don’t confuse your google search with my medical degree” I was laughing so hard for like 10 minutes. I have seen many of these kind of patients in many doctor’s offices from my vantage point of the back office.
4. Patients calling about issues in an unrelated specialty
Not all doctors were made alike, but some patients don’t realize they can’t go to their OB-GYN about that blemish on their skin. It may seem like common sense that the doctor will only be able to help if the issue is in their field of study, but sometimes issues are brought that aren’t appropriate. You wouldn’t go to an immigration lawyer when you need an injury lawyer.
5. Patients who like the attention
A patient may constantly be showing up with small issues, or maybe he or she is bringing the whole family to an outing at the doctor’s office. Even if they do have a legitimate issue, not every doctor has the time — or energy at the end of the day — to pander to someone craving the spotlight.
6. Patients who attempt to get free care time after time
Eventually the free ride has to end. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. There’s a certain brazenness to a person who comes back time and time again without paying and expects to continue getting treatment. There’s only so long that a physician can let a freeloading patient slide.
The fact is, it’s still a business, and there needs to be payment of some kind, especially if the patient wants to keep returning. Just an FYI for y’all, once the doctor gets wise to these tactics, you will have a permanent note attached to your file so every other doctor who gets your chart will know EXACTLY what you’re doing! If you really need help paying the bill, doctor offices do have payment plans to help you. Don’t always be trying to get everything for free all the time, word gets around fasts because people forget that doctors do talk among themselves…
7. “Oh by the way, doc…”
Also known as the doorknob question. You might have spent 15 minutes discussing a relatively small problem with a patient, and just as you’re on your way out the door, they bring up the real reason for the visit. Typically these are large issues or they are embarrassing.
The result of these visits is usually that you’re late to the next appointment. Depending on how serious it is, the best way to combat this issue is to explain that the problem should really be handled in a whole appointment just for it. Sometimes it’s something that can’t be put off. In that case, physicians just have to accept it as a hazard of their job.
8. Not following up
Patients don’t really understand the way physicians work. So patients sometimes skip the follow-up appointment after taking a medicine or getting an out-of-office test. You can suggest a follow up until you’re blue in the face, but if your patient doesn’t see the purpose for it, they probably won’t bother.
9. Not knowing their own meds
This is especially an issue with Medicare patients, who often take a number of different medications. And sometimes what they and their physician’s have to deal with is that fact that their memories might not be as sharp as they once were. Being confronted with a baggie of various pills is often no help to anyone. Unfortunately, there’s not much that can be done either, unless you’ve prescribed them.
10. Lying
If you don’t have the correct information, there’s little chance that you’ll come to the right diagnosis. But patients will get embarrassed when discussing their health. Don’t be embarrassed! The doctor truly want to help you, and if he find out you’re lying to him/her, the doctor is NOT going to take you seriously for the rest of the time you’re in his care and the doctor will wonder what else you’ve lied about….. The reason this can get frustrating for physicians is because — except for extreme cases — they’ve just about seen it all.
11. “I Refuse To Vaccinate My Children” There is a disturbing, yet growing, trend of people rejecting vaccinations for themselves and their children. The science on this is quite clear: The vaccines we recommend for routine use in children and adults are extremely safe. They also save lives. Since we have seen a reduction in vaccination, we have seen a concomitant increase in vaccine-preventable disease in the United States. These are diseases, such as measles, which can cause severe illness in children, including death. Vaccines have become a victim of their own success, because they were so successful at preventing these infections over the last several decades that we no longer have the community memory of the kind of devastation these illnesses can have as well as the dramatic impact vaccines had in stopping these diseases.
12.“I Don’t Have Time To Come In” The one habit doctors wish people [would] stop usually occurs during vacation time. They usually call to say they don’t feel well 24 to 48 before they are scheduled to leave town. In one doctor’s case, the patient usually says they have chest pain, shortness of breath [or] high or low blood pressure. They usually say they must come in at a specific day or time because they are leaving and have so many last-minute things to do. When the doctor asks when the symptoms started, the usual reply is four to seven days before the phone call. Doctors wish patients would understand that doctors don’t have a magic wand, and sometimes need to do tests to figure out what is going on. Please call as soon as you don’t feel well, and on the rare [occasion] doctors need to recommend postponing the departure, please understand it is for your health. Please prioritize your health for a happy and healthy vacation.
So all the pet peeves in a nutshell. Please, I’ve seen enough of these traits to last me several lifetimes from my vantage point of the back office. If you’re suddenly getting the cold shoulder, look over this list and see if you haven’t made one of the infractions mentioned above. If yes, correct the infraction immediately!
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