Know Your Doctor

Too often I hear people express a lack of trust and confidence in their doctors. When I question them about their contempt, I realize the root of the problem. Most people don’t truly know their doctor – and on the flip side, their doctor doesn’t really know them either. A recent study that was published on MSN.com found that the average doctor gives each patient less than a minute of his undivided attention during an office visit – that’s barely enough time to tell someone your name and address!

Think about it – we shop all over town for the best deal on a car or a pair of shoes and most of us will interview multiple professionals and check all credentials and references when it comes to hiring child care or a contractor, but we often settle for a doctor simply because he/she is in the ‘approved network’ of our insurance company. Many people I talk to can’t tell me a thing about their doctor other than their name and the location of their office. I challenge you to interview your doctor as if your life depends on it (because it may). Know where they went to school, when they graduated, how many credit hours of nutritional training they had, do they have any allegiance or affiliation with any pharmaceutical companies, what are their areas of expertise, what are their weaknesses – and most importantly, are they healthy? Would you want an overweight, unhealthy doctor who smokes giving you health advice?

I think a GREAT doctor and a routine yearly physical are essential in maintaining good health, so do everything in your power to make this happen. Make money the last concern when choosing a doctor. A great doctor is worth paying for – after all, how much is your life worth? If your insurance provider won’t cover the doctor of your choosing, choose another insurance carrier. Whatever it takes! When everyone wakes up and takes charge of their health and demands more from their doctor and insurance provider, then and only then will true health reform start to take place in this country.

Accept a prescription as a last means of treatment, not as the knee-jerk reaction that most doctors default to. Unless your doctor can logically explain the source of your problem and prescribe a treatment that will get to the source rather than cover up the symptoms and create new side effects, then don’t settle for drugs. Let’s face it – we don’t get migraines due to a lack of aspirin in the brain and our acid reflux and digestive problems are not due to a lack of antacid in the stomach. Don’t settle for just one person’s opinion – do your own research, consult specialists, think logically and explore every solution possible.

We only get one life to live and one body to live it in – make the most of it every day and take care of yourself as if you are the most precious thing in the world.