Two patient appointment examples; the right way and the wrong way
When you pay for a doctor’s expertise and don’t use it, then shame on you
There are two main reasons that patients come to see a doctor.
The first is to get something specific that the patient needs. For instance, to get certified for medical cannabis, or to get a prescription refill, or to get some kind of medical documentation.
The second and more complex reason is to consult a physician to gain some improvement in health. This second reason is where many patients fail to maximize on the doctor’s knowledge and advice. The unfortunate part of having patients disregard suggestions is that this disregard ultimately impacts their health negatively.
HERE ARE EXAMPLES OF TWO RECENT PATIENT VISITS:
CASE ONE THE COMPLAINER:
A 60 year old woman recently came to see me for get recertified for cannabis. She spent the majority of the appointment time complaining how poorly she feels. She said that even though she was there for recertification, medical cannabis is not that effective in controlling her pain.
CASE ONE SUGGESTIONS:
I listened carefully to this patient’s complaints and suggested adding some additional modalities to mediate her pain and improve her general health.
- Neuororeplete Supplements: Which work for fibromyalgia CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
- Low Level Laser Therapy: This works well for osteoarthritis CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
- PEA (Pamitoylethanolamide): Works well for pain relief. Patients can buy from the manufacturer or our clinic at the same price. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
- Physical therapy
Any/all of these treatments in combination with medical cannabis would most likely have affected her health in a very positive way. The patient interrupted me multiple times and completely disregarded my suggestions. It became clear that her goals were simply to get recertified and to complain but she was truly not interested in getting healthier.
CASE TWO THE LISTENERS/ADOPTERS:
A 65 year old husband and wife came to see me. The female patient had an appointment with me to get her initial cannabis certification.
CASE TWO SUGGESTIONS:
Along with the certification for medical cannabis I made a suggestion to the woman for additional modalities to improve her situation which was Low Level Laser Therapy. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
I also provided her with background information. She listened carefully and was willing to learn. During the appointment the husband noticed the weight management poster on my wall. He scanned the QR code and while he was still in the office read my article on how to lose weight. He told me that he agreed with my weight loss philosophy and wanted to start on my weight loss program. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
I was able to fit him in for an appointment that same day and we got him set up. Both patients were invested enough in their own health to listen to and implement my suggestions.
So in the second case the patients used the opportunity for their benefit and in the first case the opportunity was squandered. The point is that there is nothing wrong with getting the doctor to do some simple things for you, but if in the process the doctor has some suggestions to improve your health, it is probably smart to listen and take notice, because hopefully your doctor has better education in matters of health and you can get some benefit from their opinion.
AN UPDATE ON THE MEDICAL CANNABIS LEGISLATION:
The cannabis bill is still going from committee to committee at the state capitol. We continue to lobby for the medical cannabis side of the bill so that the pharmacists who work with the medical cannabis patients can be retained.