Doctor Abuse

I have been saving this post for when I got around to it. But then an article about a local doctor popped up on my radar. And I am now really appalled.

What I am talking about is not abuse of doctors by patients but sexual abuse by doctors on patients. Its under reported and under penalized.

A recent study came out showing that sexual abuse of patients by doctors is wide spread. I had no idea.I find it appalling.You trust your doctor and then they violate the trust. Who are you supposed to report it to? The nurse who works for them? The hospital where they work? The medical board? You don't really know. And you are ashamed.

You trust your doctors because you hire them to make you feel better. And it is expected that they will touch you. And you are willing to take your clothes off for them. If you think about it, when would you meet a strange person and go into a small room with them and then take off your clothes? In any other context that would just be really weird and asking for trouble.

So you can see this could easily lead to impropriety. But we trust our doctors and assume they will do the right thing and not be inappropriate. Most doctors I am sure are professional and not going to do anything inappropriate. But unfortunately there are always those rotten apples.

So as a patient, what can you do? If you feel something is inappropriate, speak up, question it, and report it. Who should you report it to? Start with the hospital where you are a patient, the medical board, and the police if you really feel violated. Do not hold back.

And find a new doctor. There is no reason to stay with a doctor who is inappropriate or makes you feel uncomfortable.

When doctor's give orders

I ran into two instances where doctors were giving orders, to patients. Basically they were giving the patients orders to obey them and make them toe the line.

In one instance a friend of mine who was a heavy smoker was told he had to prove he had quit smoking for a month before the doctor would perform his back surgery. Yes, I know smoking is a nasty dirty habit. Yes, I know it can do horrible things to your lungs and the rest of your body. Yes, I know quitting smoking is a very good way to improve your health.

But, the doctor had his surgery scheduled and then he was in a fender bender so it had to be delayed. Now the doctor won't schedule his surgery until he has quit smoking. So if my friend needed to quit smoking because of surgery concerns, why did the doctor not make this an issue before? Why is it now? This does not make sense.

Then another friend who is a grandmother and is long since done having children wants to have a hysterectomy. She even has fibroids and her doctor says no. She's not ready? What? He's not giving her a real answer.

In both cases, I feel that the doctors are asserting their opinions without thinking of the patient's concerns. This is not right. I think both patients should find new doctors. I would not put up with that crap from any of my doctors.

Non-impartial doctors

Do I expect my doctors to be my best friends? No. But I do expect them to impartial and have no biases when treating me. I try to do my part - show up for appointments, take my medicines are directed, and take fairly good care of myself. I have had a few doctors which I have felt I didn't really gibe with but in my mind, I really want good care, not buddy-buddy.

A new study (because we always need new studies) shows that more than 40% of doctors state they have biases to certain groups. Some of those include obese patients, patients who do not speak English, or have emotional problems.

"The most common reason that doctors said they stereotyped patients was because of their emotional problems, which elicited biases among 62% of physicians, followed by their weight, which 56% of male and 48% of female physicians said provoked biases for them. Other triggers were patients' intelligence, language differences, insurance coverage, age, income level, race and attractiveness."

Hmmmm..... Well doctors are human beings and I think every person would admit there are just some people that make them recoil a tiny bit. I admit I am not perfect and have my own cringe factor for some people - like the scary homeless guy on the subway yelling obscenities. (I realize that their problems are probably worsened by lack of medical/psychiatric treatment and they should not be blamed for their issues but I just don't want to sit next to them.)

The problem is that when doctors have biases, whether conscious or subconscious, the patient usually gets a lower standard of care. That's a real problem. Its not ethical for doctors to provide for different standards of care for different groups but if its a subconscious bias, how do they stop themselves.

Is that pain only in your brain?

I have been pondering this question for a couple of days. Some one posted a comment on my blog the other day and asked about this:

"How do you know when some of these pains are not in your head? I have mistook mental discomfort for physical problems."

I have often pondered this question for myself. Is what I feel real pain or is my brain making it up? How can I tell all my pains are real? Am I over treating my ailments? How can I have so much pain? I sometimes run little experiments with myself (don't tell my doctors!) to see how my medications are working and how my pain levels really are. Sometimes I just forget a medication and I often quickly find out what is real and how much somethings hurt. Other times I will delay taking my next pills and see how I am feeling.

I thought about this, hard. I know if someone has a limb amputated they often may have 'phantom' pains. The missing leg still produces feeling of pain even after it is gone. I know there are treatments for this as well.

But I also feel strongly that doctors should never ignore patient's statements on having pains. For years, male doctors often dismissed women's complaints on menstrual cramps. They were proven wrong. But if a patient complains of pains often and a doctor does nothing, you need a new doctor. 

However if its the other way around and the confusion is as the commenter noted above - mental discomfort being mistaken for physical pains - that is a different problem all together. In quickly asking the all-knowing Dr. Google, you can find that it is a recognized emotional issue that causes significant anguish.

In my non-medical opinion, if there is a question as to whether the pain is real or in your head, you would really need to do some personal and medical research, working with a good medical professional who meets your needs. Because even if the pain isn't real, there is still an issue that needs to be treated.