doctor's office

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It amazes me how little attention some doctors pay to their patients anymore! It seems like everytime I go to the doctor wen I'm sick, the time I spend with the attending physican gets smaller and smaller. Recently, I went because I had some flu like symptoms, lots of nasal congestion, back pain, vomitting and just general ill feeling. I waited in the room for about 15 minutes before the doctor came in. He came in and basically onced over me. I'm not even sure if he really listened to what I was trying to tell him about how I was feeling, seemed like he was just picking out vague key words. He looked in my ears, up my nose, listened to my heart and then took a throat culture. All in all, it took about ten minutes. So I wait again. Almost twenty more minutes go by to get my test results, which by the way, were only supposed to take ten. I get to see the doctor again-yippie!- and it's a whole whopping five minutes. I'm sent home with a note for work, a prescription for a weak antibotic and a feeling that my concerns hadn't been met. A little more than two weeks later and my cough has gotten worse, my nasal congestion won't go away and the antibotics I was prescribed seemed to have little effect on my general well being. Now, I'm a fairly intelligent person. I realize there are tons of sick people out there who need to see doctors and that most are worst off than me. I have insurance, good military insurance, so I think I deserve some more recognition that what I got. On the totem pole of illness, I fall pretty low. And I also realize that insurance these days puts alot of pressure on the medical society to move patients along. I can't even imagine being a doctor and having to deal with insurance gripes and hassles. I am sure doctors, on many levels, are under lots of duress to see as many people as possible and try and make the most of their time with them. So personal attention to patients is neglected and I also feel that diagnoising is suffering as well. I, as a patient and human being, would really like to have a bit more attention paid to my symptoms and needs. Amazingly enough, this particular doctor's office doesn't even do a courtesy follow-up call later to check on my well being! The sad thing is that I could probably diagnois myself better than most doctors- at least I listen to what my body is trying to tell me! In this age where so many things are instant and quick- ie, fast food, microwave dinners and even drive thru divorce- it would be refreshing to have medical care that wasn't.