{"id":10386,"date":"2011-09-25T12:42:41","date_gmt":"2011-09-25T16:42:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pmedicine.org\/epatients\/?p=10386"},"modified":"2011-09-25T12:42:41","modified_gmt":"2011-09-25T16:42:41","slug":"beth-austin-choosing-a-doctor-and-other-death-defying-feats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/participatorymedicine.org\/epatients\/2011\/09\/beth-austin-choosing-a-doctor-and-other-death-defying-feats.html","title":{"rendered":"Beth Austin: Choosing a doctor and other death-defying feats"},"content":{"rendered":"
Guest blogger Beth Austin shares her professional and personal advice on choosing the right doctor. She is the principal of Crescendo Consulting Group<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ve spent a lot of time in my professional life knee-deep in articles on healthcare quality and medical information, as well as working with local doctors, hospitals, and health-focused, not-for-profit agencies. As part of this work, I often share information and resources with others to help them choose a doctor. I\u2019ve also spent a lot of time wondering whether anything I knew or said ever made a difference to anyone, or whether people always end up picking the specialist their PCP recommends or just geolocating the practice closest to their house. Does anyone even pay attention to their health or healthcare unless there\u2019s a problem?<\/p>\n Recently, I received an unexpected medical diagnosis (although I suppose most of them are unexpected). It was of the frightening and potentially life-changing variety where you blow through your health plan deductible and out-of-pocket max faster than you can say \u201chospital johnny.\u201d Suddenly I felt as if I were being put to the test \u2013 an almost surreal, multiple choice exam where the wrong answer could have significant consequences. I would soon be faced with important decisions \u2013 and would learn first-hand whether anything I knew actually mattered. I\u2019ll share with you a few tips based on my experience, but first, a couple of caveats.<\/p>\n Big Caveat Number One:<\/strong> It\u2019s personal. A big lesson learned for me is that there is no single \u201cright answer.\u201d Choices about treatment approaches or where one receives care can be affected significantly by one\u2019s personal life circumstances. There is a whole truckload of psychological, spiritual, and simply practical aspects that need to be considered. If you know someone going through this, provide guidance and insight, but don\u2019t judge. Now, for what it\u2019s worth, here\u2019s what I learned from my experience:<\/p>\n Final Exam <\/strong><\/p>\n For me, the doctor-choosing multiple choice test ended up looking something like this:<\/p>\n Which doctor would you choose?<\/p>\n Remember that this is a personal decision, and for that reason I won\u2019t tell you which doctor I chose because it is not necessarily the \u201cright\u201d answer — just the right answer for me. The biggest point is to know that you have a choice and to use some sort of informed decision making process. And, overall, I\u2019m really glad I paid attention before it became a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Guest blogger Beth Austin shares her professional and personal advice on choosing the right doctor. She is the principal of Crescendo Consulting Group. I\u2019ve spent a lot of time in my professional life knee-deep in articles on healthcare quality and medical information, as well as working with local doctors, hospitals, and health-focused, not-for-profit agencies. As […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[21,171,1],"tags":[4604,2291],"coauthors":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nBig Caveat Number Two: <\/strong>It\u2019s not always easy. Even if you think you know the right answer, speaking up or acting on your knowledge is sometimes challenging for a myriad of reasons. The subject matter is intimidating, you\u2019re exhausted, you\u2019re stressed, and you\u2019re afraid of making the wrong decision\u2026 more great reasons not to pass judgment on others (or yourself). <\/p>\n\n
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