From: libman@hsc.usc.edu (Marlena Libman)
Subject: Need advice with doctor-patient relationship problem
Organization: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
Lines: 64
NNTP-Posting-Host: hsc.usc.edu

I need advice with a situation which occurred between me and a physican
which upset me.  I saw this doctor for a problem with recurring pain.
He suggested medication and a course of treatment, and told me that I
need to call him 7 days after I begin the medication so that he may
monitor its effectiveness, as well as my general health.

I did exactly as he asked, and made the call (reaching his secretary).
I explained to her that I was following up at the doctor's request,
and that I was worried because the pain episodes were becoming more
frequent and the medication did not seem effective.

The doctor called me back, and his first words were, "Whatever you want,
you'd better make it quick.  I'm very busy and don't have time to chit-
chat with you!"  I told him I was simply following his instructions to
call on the 7th day to status him, and that I was feeling worse.  I 
then asked if perhaps there was a better time for us to talk when he
had more time.  He responded, "Just spit it out now because no time is
a good time."  (Said in a raised voice.)  I started to feel upset and
tried to explain quickly what was going on with my condition but my
nervousness interfered with my choice of words and I kind of stuttered
and then said "well, never mind" and he said he'll talk to various
colleagues about other medications and he'll call me some other time.

This doctor called me that evening and said because I didn't express
myself well, he was confused about what I wanted.  At this point I
was pretty upset and I told him (in an amazingly polite voice considering
how angry I felt) that his earlier manner had hurt my feelings.  He told
me that he just doesn't have time to "rap with patients" and thought
that was what I wanted.  I told him that to assume I was calling to
"rap" was insulting, and said again that I was just following through
on his orders.  He responded that he resented the implication that he 
felt I was making that he was not interested in learning about what his
patients have to say about their condition status.  He then gave me
this apology: "I am sorry that there was a miscommunication and you
mistakenly thought I was insulting.  I am not trying to insult you
but I am not that knowledgeable about pain, and I don't have a lot of
time to deal with that."  He then told me to call him the next day
for further instructions on how do deal with my pain and medication.

I am still upset and have not yet called.

My questions: (1) Should I continue to have this doctor manage my care?
(2) Since I am in pain off and on, I realize that this may cause me to
be more anxietous so am I perhaps over-reacting or overly sensitive?
If this doctor refers me to his colleague who knows more about the type
of pain I have, he still wants me to status him on my condition but
now I am afraid to call him.

			--Marlena















