1. Leaves the room with “I’ll be right back” or “back in a minute” and never comes back. Leaving you in your paper gown to peek around the hallway wondering if he/she is coming back. Hello? Hello? 2. Mistakes you for a different patient. It’s okay if your doctor doesn’t remember all previous details about you but I just heard of a doctor that spoke to a patient about her recent back surgery. A back surgery she didn’t have. 3. Scoffs at the treatment and recommendations of other specialists, and some he/she has referred you to. It’s ok to politely disagree but it’s not ok to scoff at other doctors who are taking care of you, especially when you like and trust that other doctor. Unsettling. 4. “You’re fat.” What?! One person was told in these words: “You’re fat, I’m ordering a sleep study you probably have sleep apnea.” Nuff said. That’s just wrong. There is another way to talk about sleep apnea. 5. Takes a personal call while in the room with you and it’s a conversation with their broker, real estate agent, etc. I am a doctor and this has happened to me...as a patient. Your time is important, you’ve waited months for this appointment and that call can wait. Period. 6. Refers you to a doctor because of a test result, before he/she gives you the test result. I’ve heard this nightmare story before with a 30 year old who got a call from an oncology office setting up a new patient visit before her gynecologist had told her about any abnormal results. Awful. Deliver that news first, and then refer. 7. Yells at you for a tattoo, among other things. A patient reported her OB/GYN told her she was going to hell for getting a tattoo. A doctor who judges you. Yuck. We are advocates for our patients not judgers. 8. Your doc has you come back to be seen for an office visit in order to get a medication refilled EVERY 30 DAYS. This should be done for strong pain medications but for routine meds (blood pressure meds, diabetes meds) having you come for a visit, pay a co-pay, get a ride there, and wait in the waiting room for a quick visit for refills...that shouldn’t be a requirement. 9. Your doctors' office is decorated by a pharmaceutical company: posters, tissue boxes, sticky pads, pens, etc. Ewwww. Hard to imagine there isn’t influence from that company on their prescribing practices. 10. It’s personal. A doctor who tells you that your problem is common, that his wife has the same thing. Then he describes his wife’s problem in detail. Your wife is dying right now that you are telling that story. Source
