It is interesting how health care needs have evolved along with the changing world. Because this generation is constantly bombarded with information from different mass media—print, radio, television, and of course, the Internet, people are able to make informed choices and demand the type of products and services they get.
It is noted that among the service-based businesses, the health care industry continues to rank among the lowest in terms of satisfaction ratings of customers. The means justify the ends, and it seems that clients want more from Shoreline doctors than just the cure of their diseases; putting things bluntly, they want quality service.
For centuries, physicians have been highly revered by people. It is after all no easy feat to become a doctor, and eight or more years of studying with the end goal of obtaining a license is no joke indeed. There is also that added fact that doctors have power over the lives of the clients they treat.
Today, people have realized that because health care is also a commodity, they can demand the quality of service they receive. There is a health reason for this. Almost all patients—with an exception of those wellness visits—that seek the help of doctors in Shoreline, want a solution to their illness that is part of the physical dimension of man. However, because man is composed of other dimensions (emotional, spiritual), which invariably also affects their health and which they bring along with them to the health care facility; they also want these other dimensions to be treated as well.
Here are among the areas people want physicians to improve in, aside from merely addressing their physical needs:
1) Patients want to be treated with more respect. Physicians forget that they should treat patients with impartiality regardless of race, age, gender, etc. Patients who are afforded respect are more prone to follow doctor’s instructions.
2) Doctors have the tendency to take orders literally. Doctor’s orders are just that, commands. Many patients want medical professionals to communicate more with them. One way is for physicians to give further explanation on the instructions they give. What mostly happens is that they write a list of orders for their patients to follow without letting patients understand the reasons for such. According to patients, when physicians communicate more with them about patients’ treatment, this is more likely to be followed; thus, eliciting positive results with bearing on their health.
3) Knowledge about medicine is just the start. Aside from possessing knowledge about medical science, medical professionals should possess positive traits such as empathy, confidence, humaneness, and others. More importantly, although doctors are busy, they should not give patients the feeling that they are in a rush during visits.
Shoreline doctors should therefore deal with patients with more compassion. This is after all their calling. Aside from focusing on the disease process, they should build more on establishing a meaningful doctor-patient relationship. In this way, people might just view their hospital experience as something positive. This is perhaps what this disease-stricken world needs.