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A Message To My Patients
As patient and physician, ours
is more than a relationship; it's a partnership. A partnership is based on
mutual trust and confidence. I want to ensure that you get an accurate
diagnosis and treatment that's best and most satisfactory for you.
To give you the best, most
thorough care possible, I need some things from you:
1. Communication: If
you don't understand what I'm telling you, if you don't understand a treatment,
prescription instructions, or my diagnosis, tell me. If I explain again and
it's still not clear, say so. With a complex topic, sometimes it takes two or
three explanations to clarify all the details. I'm willing to explain as many
times as needed; I simply need you to remind me.
2. Clarification: Tell
me what you need to know about your condition. If I've told you to take it easy
until your condition improves, and you want to know if you can go to work, watch
television, or go shopping, ask.
3. Satisfaction: Be
sure you're comfortable with what I've recommended, and if you're not, tell me.
We can discuss alternatives, or, if there are no options, I’ll try to do a
better job of making you feel more at ease and explaining the choices you face.
4. Understanding:
Understand that medicine is a science, but it's also an art. Doctors don't
always have the perfect, no-questions-asked diagnosis, treatment, or cure. I'll
use my knowledge to evaluate your condition. I can do a better job of treating
you if you will keep me informed, ask me questions, and give me honest, complete
information about your medical history and current symptoms or problems.
5. Information: Tell
me or one of my staff when something is troubling you, whether it's that my
front door is difficult to open, that one of us was short-tempered with you, or
that the prescription I gave you doesn't seem to be working. If I know when
you're unhappy or not fully satisfied, I can do something about it. If you keep
it to yourself, I'll never know -- and sometimes the information you keep to
yourself may affect the course of your treatment or recovery.
In return for your involvement
and communication, I promise I'll communicate with you. I believe the result
will be a better medicine and a stronger relationship.
Sam Speron, M.D.
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