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Old 30-12-2016, 15:19
xbling
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I rarely visit my GP but I know from friends and family that this is quite common. Why do doctors, when you've said what's wrong, now ask and what would you like them to do?

I believe the doctor should decide the course of treatment including whether you are fit for work!
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Old 30-12-2016, 15:23
jp761
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It can be a good thing I think. They need info, by asking you questions they can gain info and your opinion, they hear your views.

It helps paint the overall picture.
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Old 30-12-2016, 15:29
silentNate
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They are trained to ask you your Ideas Concerns & Expectations.

http://www.gp-training.net/training/...algary/ice.htm
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Old 30-12-2016, 15:30
1fab
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I think it's to avoid possible litigation through making a wrong decision. They put the responsibility right back with the patient. Then, if anything goes wrong, the GP can say "well, it was her/his idea".
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Old 30-12-2016, 16:51
SULLA
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I rarely visit my GP but I know from friends and family that this is quite common. Why do doctors, when you've said what's wrong, now ask and what would you like them to do?
Answer..." I want to be cured please "
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Old 30-12-2016, 17:08
muggins14
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Never heard a doctor say that yet!

Last edited by muggins14 : 30-12-2016 at 17:20. Reason: Fingers in knots, typing crap :D
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Old 30-12-2016, 17:23
Laurel1ne
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I rarely visit my GP but I know from friends and family that this is quite common. Why do doctors, when you've said what's wrong, now ask and what would you like them to do?

I believe the doctor should decide the course of treatment including whether you are fit for work!
Answer..." I want to be cured please "
But what do you mean by cured? There are many conditions that may be controlled by a regular regime of drugs. So "curing" you just may not be possible, but enabling you to live a reasonably regular lifestyle is possible

And that's probably what the Doctor is trying to gauge, "What do you want the end-result to be"?

With arthritis a pain-free future may be possible, but being cured is not
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Old 30-12-2016, 18:23
Ovalteenie
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Because nowadays doctors are supposed to be collaborative rather than prescriptive. In other words, they are supposed to come to a consensus with the patient rather than telling them.

However this is a cultural thing. In some countries, people expect the doctor to tell them what needs to be done, and any doctor who asks the patient "what do you think we should do?" would be regarded as inexperienced or incompetent Older generations tend to be like that too.
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Old 30-12-2016, 18:24
Moany Liza
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It's all about managing expectations and allowing patients to have some input into their management.

It helps the doctor to see what a patient's own insight is into their problem. A lot of patients already have some understanding of their condition because lots of people Google before they go to their GP and will already have some idea of what to expect during their visit.

There are often a range of options at the GPs disposal and patients are usually encouraged to try the simplest options first before embarking on things which are time-consuming, costly or unpleasant. Also, it is helpful to the doctor to find out if the patient is actually interested in co-operating with whatever investigations or treatment they recommend.

There's little point in a GP prescribing drugs which a patient decides to stop taking after 2 days or referring them to physio if they have no intention of attending an appointment when it is arranged for them.
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Old 30-12-2016, 18:32
pie-eyed
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I have never been asked that.
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Old 30-12-2016, 18:34
TerraCanis
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When I went to the doctor's with my shoulder, he asked what I thought the problem was. I just answered the question with what I thought the problem was, and missed the perfect opportunity to tell him "I'm a physicist, dammit, not a physician".

And the icing on the cake would have been... his name really was Jim.
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Old 30-12-2016, 18:45
SULLA
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But what do you mean by cured? There are many conditions that may be controlled by a regular regime of drugs. So "curing" you just may not be possible, but enabling you to live a reasonably regular lifestyle is possible

And that's probably what the Doctor is trying to gauge, "What do you want the end-result to be"?

With arthritis a pain-free future may be possible, but being cured is not
If they couldn't cure me they should have said so before asking the other question.
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Old 30-12-2016, 19:10
Tiger Rag
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I've never had this.

The closest I've ever got with this was informing the GP I had the same problem months ago and was given some antibiotics and cream.
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Old 30-12-2016, 20:10
Laurel1ne
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Because nowadays doctors are supposed to be collaborative rather than prescriptive. In other words, they are supposed to come to a consensus with the patient rather than telling them.

However this is a cultural thing. In some countries, people expect the doctor to tell them what needs to be done, and any doctor who asks the patient "what do you think we should do?" would be regarded as inexperienced or incompetent Older generations tend to be like that too.
While in America, TV Viewers are told to ask their doctors why they're not putting them on x particular drug

A Doctor Friend says she spends a lot of her time explaining to patients why a particular drug being heavily promoted isn't suited to their condition

All US Drug adverts always end with a long list of caveats and side-effects but tend to be lost on the viewer who then wants the doctor to give them that drug, despite the advert warning them that the drug can't be used on people with several of the things the patient has
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Old 30-12-2016, 20:23
Tiger Rag
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While in America, TV Viewers are told to ask their doctors why they're not putting them on x particular drug

A Doctor Friend says she spends a lot of her time explaining to patients why a particular drug being heavily promoted isn't suited to their condition

All US Drug adverts always end with a long list of caveats and side-effects but tend to be lost on the viewer who then wants the doctor to give them that drug, despite the advert warning them that the drug can't be used on people with several of the things the patient has
A friend of mine who is a GP says the same.

I have to admit that today when seeing the nurse about my asthma, I was half expecting her to give me something more than what I'm on now.
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Old 30-12-2016, 20:28
Ovalteenie
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While in America, TV Viewers are told to ask their doctors why they're not putting them on x particular drug

A Doctor Friend says she spends a lot of her time explaining to patients why a particular drug being heavily promoted isn't suited to their condition

All US Drug adverts always end with a long list of caveats and side-effects but tend to be lost on the viewer who then wants the doctor to give them that drug, despite the advert warning them that the drug can't be used on people with several of the things the patient has
Commercialised medicine will come here today, I predict. The internet means that people already dispute what their doctors advise, or ask why they are not getting the latest expensive, perhaps experimental, treatment for their diagnosis. The trouble with googling by the lay public is that they lack the medical training to interpret the information out there.
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Old 30-12-2016, 20:37
Pam_Kerr
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But what do you mean by cured? There are many conditions that may be controlled by a regular regime of drugs. So "curing" you just may not be possible, but enabling you to live a reasonably regular lifestyle is possible

And that's probably what the Doctor is trying to gauge, "What do you want the end-result to be"?

With arthritis a pain-free future may be possible, but being cured is not
Given the doctor is supposed to be the clever one with the medical knowledge he should know that the patient's aim is to get better by whatever means available or/and necessary.

I was once asked by a GP what I thought was wrong with me, this after telling him my symptoms. I said to him that if I knew what was wrong with me I wouldn't be sitting in his surgery wasting his time. Fortunately we were near neighbours and he took it well.
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Old 30-12-2016, 21:38
Laurel1ne
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Given the doctor is supposed to be the clever one with the medical knowledge he should know that the patient's aim is to get better by whatever means available or/and necessary.

I was once asked by a GP what I thought was wrong with me, this after telling him my symptoms. I said to him that if I knew what was wrong with me I wouldn't be sitting in his surgery wasting his time. Fortunately we were near neighbours and he took it well.
But people come to the Doctor expecting to be cured when often there is no cure, all that can be done is to alleviate and manage symptoms

The Doctor is attempting to manage expectations, you're not necessarily going to be cured
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Old 30-12-2016, 21:52
belly button
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Given the doctor is supposed to be the clever one with the medical knowledge he should know that the patient's aim is to get better by whatever means available or/and necessary.

I was once asked by a GP what I thought was wrong with me, this after telling him my symptoms. I said to him that if I knew what was wrong with me I wouldn't be sitting in his surgery wasting his time. Fortunately we were near neighbours and he took it well.
Asking someone what they think is wrong with them is a good way for a doctor to get more information. For instance if a person thinks they might have cancer and the doctor asks why they think that, they may go on to say that someone in the family had the same symptoms and they were diagnosed with it. Many diseases are familial and so it can be taken into account.

On the other hand it may be an opportunity for a doctor to put a patients mind at rest if they have been googling symptoms and come to the surgery with their own diagnosis.

For years the medical profession have been charged with being paternalistic with a major complaint being that patients weren't being listened to. Now we have people saying they want to go to the doctor to be told whats wrong and treated by them unilaterally. It's not easy to please all.
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Old 30-12-2016, 22:00
silentNate
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NawlXnyOJDY
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Old 30-12-2016, 22:06
patsylimerick
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When I went to the doctor's with my shoulder, he asked what I thought the problem was. I just answered the question with what I thought the problem was, and missed the perfect opportunity to tell him "I'm a physicist, dammit, not a physician".

And the icing on the cake would have been... his name really was Jim
.
Hands down my favourite post of 2016. (I'm treating myself to reruns of the Original ST on Netflix so I only heard the original comment again yesterday, if you know what I mean).

Back on topic; I had an issue with my hip recently and it was very much a case of GP: 'Well we can go for the MRI to be sure or you could just try physio straight off - what do you think?'. I think it's refreshing that the whole doctor/God complex is being diluted with a bit of respect for the intelligence of their patients. Mind, it seems to suit this GP a little too much. I think he quite likes not having to make all the decisions.
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Old 30-12-2016, 22:27
Bex_123
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I rarely visit my GP but I know from friends and family that this is quite common. Why do doctors, when you've said what's wrong, now ask and what would you like them to do?

I believe the doctor should decide the course of treatment including whether you are fit for work!
I have never had a doctor ask me what I would like them to do. However, as medicine moves from it's historical 'paternalistic' model to one that is more of a partnership centred around the patient, it is very normal now for clinicians to want to understand what the patient's expectations are in order to manage them, because people generally no longer expect their doctor to have all the answers and no longer will they just take exactly what their doctor says without question. People nowadays tend to have higher health literacy and basic medical knowledge, as well as the ability to quickly read up on their symptoms, illnesses and treatments in books and online. Therefore, it makes sense to question what the patient thinks.
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Old 30-12-2016, 23:22
silentNate
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I went to physiotherapy and they gave me the head consultant. Very Important. Not really interested. He told me physio had no point, suggested two different surgeons. Nodded sagely during one option and looked grim during the other.

This is my third post on this thread and yet no one listens to me....
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Old 30-12-2016, 23:28
shmisk
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I went to physiotherapy and they gave me the head consultant. Very Important. Not really interested. He told me physio had no point, suggested two different surgeons. Nodded sagely during one option and looked grim during the other.

This is my third post on this thread and yet no one listens to me....
hello I can read you!
I also think GPs ask what you want as usually their are several options for the same complaint

Also here in London (not sure about elsewhere) we can opt to chose from several hospitals to be referred to
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Old 30-12-2016, 23:34
Jo09
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Expectations are very different to asking what you think the problem is or what you think should be done. I expect the doctor to list out options along with what they reccomend. Once more informed I might be able to discuss expectations.
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