I wonder why doctors need incentives to
engage patients. Many doctors don't communicate well with patients,
but give them incentives like more money – why? Their practices
will shortly become extinct as it is and this is because patients are
learning that they don't like being talked at, looked down on, or
ignored while the doctor rushes to complete his time with you and
move on to the next poor sole to treat them the same. I say let
these practices fall by the wayside and good riddance.
In more studies, communication, aka,
“patient engagement” is being stressed more and more. The
studies are also hauling out more terms to hang on us as patients.
My blog here describes one term “patient activation” as measured
by the Patient Activation Measure. This is one of the measurements
that they take of us so they can decide if we are compliant or
non-compliant. The more activated we are the more compliant we
become. This article also uses this as if it is a key to patient
engagement (communication). Read my blog here on communications.
Now I will say something as I'm
becoming very aggravated with how the authors treat us as patients.
I say, let us use terms we are all familiar with hearing. Call us
“patients” and we will use the term “doctors” and if you need
to muddy up the terminology among yourselves, don't do it in writing
we can read or in communication when we can hear you. Communication
is the exchange of ideas and is needed to improve doctor/patient
relations. If you wish to engage us in conversation during our
appointments, that is fine with us, just don't label us and what you
are doing as “patient engagement.” If the only way you have of
communicate with us is by “patient engagement,” tell us so that
we can move on to another doctor that is willing to communicate with
us and not because it is the only way to earn your additional fee.
As patients, if we are viewed as a way
to earn additional fees, sooner or later we will devise a way to cut
these fees off and leave you wondering what you have done to be
severed from your fees. I am not sure which group is to be blamed
for this, but it is part of this article and shows just how doctors
want to have that money to do something they should already be doing.
“Several panel members, including Kaplan, noted doctors aren't
incentivized to allow patients to ask questions
or take a greater role in their care. A day-long workshop hosted by
Health Affairs earlier this month included comments from many
participants that pay models need to be developed to reward
doctors for helping patients take a greater role in planning their
care.” The bold is my added emphasis.
Another article echoed much the same
feeling and there it was stated that the team approach could be
handled by the nurses. To me this is a farce because the doctors
have dug the hole they are in and want more money to be bailed out of
their own system. They could not use communications before and now
want to be paid for communicating. I have to disagree and say to
these doctors – eat what you have fed us for years. It is
your just desserts for your attitudes that you are so far above us
that we don't deserve to be communicated with for our better health.
That we need to pay you more for your
own ineptitude, and years of not communicating with us as patients;
and now needing to communicate with us just to justify “meaningful
use” criteria for additional monies, sounds like a lot of malarkey
to me. We know what will happen. Just as soon as you have your
hands on this handout, it will be back to business as usual and
communications will cease.
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