It is difficult to say what makes the “right” doctor, but squarely put, the right doctor is the one who helps you get better. The second best doctor is one who does not make you worse, and refers you to the right doctor; and the third best doctor is one who makes you feel better by managing your symptoms, but is not able to actually resolve your condition.
I have often seen patients virtually in love with their physician, acupuncturist, or alternative practitioner, and stay with them year after year yet not improve at all. In fact, many worsen. In these cases, perhaps the doctor is kind and personable, but is not the “right” doctor to help them actually get better. I have also heard patients complain about this or that doctor who treated them poorly, but when I asked if they were helped or if the surgeon did a good job, they answered affirmatively.
Ironic, isn't it, that patients are often the worst judge of who is the right doctor? Though there is no guarantee that you will chose the right doctor on the first try, here are a few guidelines you can apply when you start looking.
Interview Carefully: If you are reasonably healthy and are going for an annual physical exam, need an acupuncturist to treat a knee strain or a chiropractor to work on a stiff neck, you need only find the doctor who provides you with the best service for the most reasonable fee. This is largely a matter of shopping the phone book, your insurance company's physician directory, or calling a referral service.
However, if you have a serious chronic condition, that is the wrong approach. For such a condition, you need the best doctor available, one who is knowledgeable about your condition, who has the time and willingness to work with you—a person you can trust and develop a professional rapport with over a period of years.
Since chronic viral conditions take time to undo and you may be seeing the same doctor every few months, consider asking a few questions at the time of your first visit or interview. Ask if the doctor has had a similar condition. What made her choose this area to specialize in? Doctors see many patients day after day, and an astute physician knows who gets better and what medications and therapies tend to work better than others. Ask what her cure rates are.
Remember you want to know what her professional success rate is and not the general statistics—after all, the research studies were not performed on you.
Keep in mind the healing profession is stressful. Do not be overly demanding or confrontational with your doctor. If she turns out to be the right doctor, you will want her to think of you as an intelligent, informed, and concerned patient who will cooperate, rather than as a difficult and stubborn patient who asks endless questions that waste both of your time.
Don't Assume Your Doctor Knows Everything: Many people make the mistake (based upon another medical myth that doctors are akin to deities) that your doctor knows everything. In truth, the doctor is another person like yourself who also may have experienced an illness, who will age, and who has to pay bills and taxes. If you feel you might get nervous and only later remember questions you wanted to ask the doctor, prepare a list before your visit. Do not bring in a page full of questions or make it a habit of calling after your visit to ask more questions that would have been better answered in person. Speaking from experience, I can say these approaches annoy and frustrate doctors.
Listen to your doctor's answers carefully. Ask him to write down instructions for you if you have a hard time remembering details. In my practice, being used to the memory loss and concentration difficulties many patients with chronic illness have, I explain the reasons for my treatments, summarize them, and write them down for the patient. Sometimes in a complex case, I also type out a summary and mail it to the patient.
It is acceptable to provide your doctor with literature and information, but do not overwhelm him with books and especially do not confront him with marketing pieces from nutritional companies advertising the latest cure for whatever ails you. Select sources related to your condition and make copies of parts of articles or highlight a paragraph or two that you think he might find interesting or that you would like his comments on. Remember, you are there to access the doctor's expertise and not to confuse the issues of your case with potentially extraneous information.
Revealing Information: It is important to have a relationship with your doctor that is open and frank, though with respect on your end and empathy on hers. Do not withhold information about other treatments or self-prescribed medications you are taking. If your medical doctor is opposed to alternative therapies, inquire on what grounds she bases her opinion. If her answer does not satisfy you, look for another primary care doctor.
The same is true for any alternative medicine practitioners. If they are against allopathic medicine, you will find it difficult to communicate effectively on issues that involve medical intervention and drug therapy. If you need a referral or are faced with a medical emergency, you will be unsupported.
Keep your doctor informed, but don't overwhelm her with every detail about every acupuncture session you've had or what the clerk in the health foods store told you last week. Write a list of all the supplements you are taking so there is a copy in your file. Update it periodically. Keep your alternative practitioner advised on what drugs you are taking, but don't expect her to answer questions on prescription medications that your medical doctor has ordered.
Ask the nurse, the prescribing medical doctor, or the dispensing pharmacist your questions concerning pharmaceutical drugs. Don't expect your medical doctor to know everything about vitamins; save those questions for your naturopath or nutritionist.
If stress plays a key role in your illness, make sure you reveal this to your doctors, but don't expect them to listen to your personal problems for all of your scheduled visit. Save that for your therapist or psychologist.
On Self-Care and Second Opinions: In this book, you have been introduced to several methods of treatment, different conventional and alternative medicine styles, and energetic medicine. There is competition among these methods for the same health care dollar. Unless you have a referral from a trusted source, approach your medical care as you would any other business arrangement: adequately prepared and with care.
This book provides you with information for self-care, which is different from care provided by a medical practitioner. Be responsible for reading the material carefully, consulting the additional recommended literature, asking questions of your health care providers, making decisions on what natural medications might best suit your condition, obtaining these medications, and then adding them into you treatment schedule.
You may want to consider the option of “guided self-care” where you work with a natural-medicine oriented physician to order lab tests and monitor your progress. This alternative opinion can be invaluable in a long-term program. Do not hesitate to seek a second, or even third, opinion if you or your doctor are confused or you do not think you are making sufficient progress.
A Note to Your Doctor: Your patient has read my book on viral immunity. In it, I discuss immunity concepts from an evolutionary point of view and present self-directed strategies using natural medicines for the prevention, care, and management of viral diseases, including influenza, herpes simplex virus, chronic hepatitis C, and several other common viral illnesses.
The information contained in this book is garnered from nearly twenty years of clinical practice, and knowing that my audience may include not only lay readers, but professionals like yourself, I have extensively investigated and documented the material in this book with research from authoritative books and prestigious medical journals. Indeed, I have left out hundreds of other articles solely for the sake of space and time.
Though this book is meant to help patients with viral ailments which prove to be difficult to cure, it is not meant to replace the advice, guidance, and medical abilities of a physician. Nor is the material contained in this book meant to be used by your patient to challenge your practice of medicine. It is solely intended to help your patients improve their chances of restoring their health.