The next time you have an appointment with a doctor or other health care professional, you may want to pay close attention to both what they say and how they say it. Of course you need the information that the doctor is giving you, but the context within which it is given is just as important, and it may have implications for the quality of care that you receive, both now and in the future.
When doctors take plenty of time to address all of their patients’ concerns, respond to phone calls and other correspondence promptly, and treat their patients with kindness and respect, their patients are likely to be very satisfied with the care that they receive. Additionally, if a patient has this type of relationship with someone who is providing medical care to them, they are likely to be more forgiving if something goes wrong and attribute whatever harm has occurred to a mistake instead of negligence or intentional wrongdoing.
Unfortunately, not all patients feel this way about those who provide health care services to them. Sometimes, patients do not feel as though they can trust their doctor, and they may wonder whether their doctor truly has their best interest in mind. Other patients may feel as though their doctor treats them rudely, or is dismissive of their concerns. Some patients may even feel like their health care provider does not respect them, and treats them like they are not intelligent enough to understand what is going on with their own bodies. In these types of relationships, when errors are made, patients are much less forgiving and much more likely to accuse the doctor of being negligent or even harming them intentionally.
Some of the communication problems that develop in the relationships between health care providers and their patients develop because there is a trend in the medical profession towards perceiving patients as potential adversaries. The trend has developed because of growing concerns about medical malpractice liability, but it does not help the situation any. In fact, it only makes matters worse because it weakens relationships and creates an atmosphere of low trust.
Giddens Law Firm, P.A.: Mississippi Medical Malpractice Attorneys
If you feel as though you have been injured by the negligence or intentional wrongdoing of a doctor or other medical professional, get help from another health care provider immediately. Also, when it is possible for you to do so, contact a Mississippi Medical Malpractice Attorney. Your attorney can help you file a claim for damages against the person or people who are responsible for your injuries. The Mississippi Medical Malpractice Attorneys at the Giddens Law Firm, P.A. work hard to obtain financial recovery for people who have been injured by the negligence of medical professionals. To learn how the Mississippi Medical Malpractice Attorneys at the Giddens Law Firm, P.A. can help you, please call us today, at (601) 355-2022, to schedule an initial consultation.