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Is your doctor actually listening to you?

On Behalf of | May 13, 2024 | Misdiagnosis |

You deserve to have a doctor who listens to you. You don’t want them to make assumptions while making a diagnosis. They need to have all the proper information about your condition or your symptoms. The only way that doctors can truly provide optimal medical treatment is by listening to their patients and then making informed decisions based on what they learned.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen. Doctors will often interrupt their patients after 11 seconds. This doesn’t always lead to a misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis, but it certainly can. The doctor may miss key details and make the wrong diagnosis, or it could take extra meetings to get to the proper diagnosis, potentially allowing the condition to get worse.

Are all interruptions bad?

No, some interruptions can be helpful. For instance, the patient may mention that they have been having trouble breathing, and the doctor may quickly interrupt to ask how long it has been going on. But after clarifying this point and getting additional information, they will let the patient continue.

The problem happens if the doctor is in a hurry. They may interrupt the patient just because they want to quickly get through the meeting so they can go on to their next appointment. A doctor who is rushing and not paying proper attention may be guilty of medical malpractice if they don’t provide the expected level of care for all of their patients. 

Seeking compensation

Do you believe that your doctor provided substandard care and caused unnecessary harm? You may be able to seek financial compensation, so take the time to look into your legal options.