THE DOCTOR-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP

March 20, 2012

Chapter 3 of “Open Wide and Say Moo” is now available online.  Dr Rich continues to accurately report the history behind the destruction of our healthcare system; Chapter 3 is fascinating and threatening!

I have often written about the doctor-patient relationship.  Dr Rich’s definition of that relationship is:

 “The real doctor-patient relationship is a sacred covenant, one which is formed when a patient goes to a doctor for help, and the doctor agrees to give that help. Under that covenant, the patient agrees to take the physician into his confidence, and to reveal to her even the most secret and intimate information related to his health. The physician, in turn, agrees to honor that trust, and to become the patient’s advocate in all matters related to his health, placing his personal best interest above all other considerations. This strong relationship of mutual trust is what patients have always expected, what most doctors have striven for, and what everyone else (medical ethicists, professional societies, and those who enforce the law of the land) have traditionally agreed – and even demanded – must be the standard.”

As you will see in Chapter 3, the doctor-patient relationship has been under attack for decades, suffering a near fatal blow in 2002.  While there are those docs, like myself, who still hold that relationship sacred, Obamacare and ACOs will force physicians to place the demands of the government/insurer above those of the patient.

As long as the government allows a two-tier system, there will be docs who opt out of Medicare/insurance/ACOs and maintain private doctor-patient relationships.  How long the private sector of medicine is allowed to exist is anyone’s guess.  If, as I fear, the government makes medical licensure contingent on accepting Obamacare or Whatevercare replaces it, the doctor-patient relationship will be forever gone.

I intend to do two things to protect my patients against whatever comes.  This column and my book are designed to teach people to be more responsible custodians of their bodies.  Remember, if you and your family stay healthy, you will not need to access healthcare.  The new system of care will be fine for a healthy person.  Your lifestyle and your habits have a great deal to do with your health.  Read “Diets and Other Unnatural Acts” and learn to be “Wellthy.”  Read the articles on this blog and learn how to be a better consumer of healthcare. Knowledge is power.

As I have mentioned before, I want to retire as a PCP and go to work the next day as a doctor.  I want to eliminate the insurer/government that is almost always in the room.  I want to return to a simpler time when my patient and I could decide what the best course of treatment was without outside interference.  That means changing to a cash only practice.  Docs across the US are working on developing a discounted fee for service model that would provide affordable healthcare to all comers.

What’s scary is that it appears many of those docs are having problems staying financially solvent.  Inexpensive/discounted medical care should flourish; but, in a world where expensive items are desirable, discounted merchandise is often perceived as faulty.  Doctors who discount their fees are often perceived as undesirable.  The paradox is inescapable.  Everyone wants the “best” doc, yet can’t afford him.  When the “best” doc decides to become better by shedding his shackles, he runs the risk of ruining his reputation.

I have been fighting to fend off those who have wished to shackle me for years.  At some point I must either decide to give in to their demands, and their demands come in the form of government regulations/laws, or go outside of the system.

Would you be willing to pay your doc cash and submit your own insurance papers?  Would you see a doc who did not accept any insurance, including Medicare?  How would you view a doc who deeply discounted the cost of your medical care? Published at www.livewellthy.org 3/20/12