Health Care Secrets Doctors Won’t Tell You

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Writing prescriptions for medications is routine part of being a doctor, but you might be surprised to learn some of the following secrets about physicians’ attitude toward it all.

• They may be writing you a prescription because it’s easier than convincing you that you don’t actually need it.
• Just because a drug is new, fancy and expensive does not mean that it’s the best. Trust your doctor if they’re prescribing you something tried and true.
• Taking psychiatric drugs affects your ability to get health insurance. If you take Prozac, it may be harder and more expensive for you to get life insurance, health insurance, or long-term-care insurance.
• Doctors allow themselves to be bribed by drug companies; 94% of doctors take gifts from drug companies, even though research has shown that these gifts bias their clinical decision making. Apparently, money (and free vacations) does talk.

Dishing Out the Health Advice

The following tidbits are things that doctors probably can’t tell their patients due to legality issues, but hey, disclosing them in Reader’s Digest anonymously can’t be bad, right?

• Schedule surgery for any day but Friday afternoon. Friday surgeries could leave you hanging high and dry come Saturday, because the day after surgery is typically when most problems arise, and hospital units are understaffed and ER’s are overwhelmed because doctor’s offices are closed for the weekend.
• Check out the coats. In many hospitals, the length of the coat corresponds to the length of training achieved. Medical students are usually wearing the shortest coats.
• Look for doctors who are one or two steps down from the top. Often the biggest names like the department chairmen are not the best clinicians, because they spend most of their time focusing on administrative matters. They no longer primarily focus on taking care of patients.

The Dark Side of Medicine

Saving lives and helping people lead healthier lives isn’t always sunshine and roses…

• Many doctors are losing their love for the profession due to spiraling reimbursement costs, more patients and 14-hour work days.
• Doctors are humans too, so you can’t them to never make mistakes. They do, and hate that they’re expected to be perfect.
• Many doctors worry about being sued, so they may perform unnecessary tests just to make sure all their bases are covered.
• Doctors do judge you, especially on your appearance.
• Because doctors often dealing with an older population, a younger and more peer-like patient will generate a lot of excitement. If you’re closer in age to a doctor than other elderly patients, you’ll probably get seen more quickly and will get more of a doctor’s time.
• Doctors don’t really care that they’re keeping you waiting; they only care when they are somehow inconvenienced.

The Softer Side of Medicine

If the above section makes you cringe and want to swear off health care forever, the fact is that seeing a physician will keep you healthy; and health insurance is an important part of this process. The fact is: Doctors have a soft side, and they truly do care about their patients.

• Doctors may sometimes tell white lies for your own good. One physician said “When a parent asks me what the cause of her child’s fever could be, I just say it’s probably a virus. If I told the truth and ran through the long list of all the other possible causes, you’d never stop crying.”
• They will give discounts to those in need. One doctor said if a patient comes to them asking for a discount and has a heartbreaking story, they’ll give them treatment for free. However, you shouldn’t expect this, so it’s always a good idea to look into discount health insurance.
• They cry about your sad situations, even if they don’t do it in front of you.

Finding a doctor you trust and feel comfortable with is incredibly important. All types of health insurance aren’t made equal in this regard, and if choosing your own doctor is high on your priority list, you may want to look into indemnity health insurance. Indemnity plans allow you to choose the doctor you would like to receive care from, as well as a hospital you would like to receive care in. Visit our fee-for-service health insurance page to learn more.

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