Читать книгу How to be Your Doctor’s Favorite Patient - David Claytor - Страница 5

“Dr. Diogenes! Hello, my dear, how are you? I haven’t seen you for ages!” exclaimed Mrs. Maureen O’Leary, the 63-year-old president of the Knoxtown Women’s Auxiliary. “What have you been up to?” Anyone would think that the reason for her visit had nothing to do with any concern over her health, but rather a fascination with the whereabouts of her physician.

“Well, mostly I’ve been here at the office and the hospital,” he replied. “And the little bit of time I have left I try to spend with my family.”

“Oh, but I hope you and Jo won’t be too busy to come to the Community Cabaret. It’s going to be wonderful. I’m going to open the show–everyone simply insisted–with my version of ‘Everything’s Coming Up Roses.’ People say I sound just like Ethel Merman. But of course you’ll be there! I almost forgot your son Cody is appearing in West Side Story. Don’t you wish our juvenile delinquents nowadays were still that tame?”

“Ah, yes. Now, tell me Mrs. O’Leary, what is it that brings you in today?”

“Oh, I suppose we do need to get back down to business. I just need a refill on my new blood pressure medicine. It’s rather expensive, you know, though that’s not a problem for me, but I can’t see how most of your patients can afford to take it every day. It’s no wonder some people are crying out for national health insurance, although that would be the ruination of our health care system as we know it, don’t you think?”

“I’d love to have an opinion on that, but it seems the politicians are going to do what they want no matter what we doctors think. Your blood pressure was fine when the nurse took it, but let me just recheck it, and listen to your heart and lungs.”

The silver-haired matron began chattering away again as Dr. Diogenes pumped up the blood pressure bulb. He put his finger to his lips, begging for silence, but it only shushed her for a moment. By the time she left with her new prescription in hand, the doctor realized he’d learned everything about her except her state of health. Indeed, it wasn’t until her next visit, a month later, when she revealed, “We were so busy talking last time, doctor, that I forgot to tell you I’ve been having this nagging cough ever since I’ve been on this medication.”

“I wish you’d have told me sooner,” he admonished, but feeling a little guilty he hadn’t uncovered this fact at the previous visit. The medication, a so-called ACE inhibitor, was doing an excellent job of lowering her blood pressure, but causing her cough. Fortunately, in this case the side effect was merely an annoyance, and the delay in reporting it to her physician resulted in no serious harm. Lucky for both of them!

Small talk can make a big difference in business settings. It can establish a sense of rapport and put people at ease, or provide a transition into weightier matters. Certainly in the setting of a physician’s office, small talk can serve those functions, but in what is often a very limited amount of time, it can also distract from the matter at hand. While your physician should be friendly and be your ally, that’s different from being social friends. In some small towns, a doctor may be social friends with many of his patients, but he still needs to keep his office a place of business.

 Do expect that your doctor will be friendly and may inquire into matters other than your health.

 Don’t expect a large part of your visit to be taken up with social matters even if you’re a friend as well as a patient. Call each other later at home!