Why doctors should hate veterinarians
By Christie Keith
October 6, 2008
I’ve been reading Dr. Nick Trout’s book “Tell Me Where it Hurts,” a semi-fictionalized “day in the life” of a veterinary surgical specialist. I was curled up in my living room, Rebel snoring at my feet, Kyrie sprawled on the sofa, when Dr. Trout mentioned a survey that found people take their pets to the veterinarian more frequently than they go to their own physicians — even though many of us have health insurance and pay far less to see our doctors than to see our vets.
My first thought was yeah, I really do seek a lot more medical care for my dogs than for myself. Then I thought, guiltily, that I should see my doctor about something I keep putting off. And then I thought about how much I hate going to the doctor’s office building, a giant, multi-floor center run by Kaiser Permanente here in San Francisco. Every floor is the same, every wing of every floor is the same, anonymous waiting rooms and reception desks where you hand over your card and get checked in, after which you are weighed, blood pressured, ushered into a room where you wait, alone, until the doctor appears and gives you your 5.4 minutes, most of it spent with her typing into her little laptop computer and reading you the questions it tells her to ask you.
If only, I thought, I could go to a doctor’s office that was just a doctor’s office, not a huge corporation. If only my doctor would sit and talk to me for a long time, call me at home with test results, seem truly interested in my well-being and comfort, try to make the pieces fit together in a meaningful way instead of just slapping on a band-aid and hustling me out the door.
If only, I thought, my doctor was like… my vet.
And that’s the problem. Almost every veterinarian I’ve ever had, with the occasional exception of those encountered at specialty or emergency practices, has been nurturing, patient, interested, thoughtful, compassionate, and communicative. They keep convenient hours, can usually get me in at the last minute if necessary, and have small, friendly storefront offices.
It’s not that veterinary medicine beats human medicine in all things. Sure, human hospitals are bad, but having spent many hours and even nights in a veterinary hospital with severely ill pets, I consider it a miracle any animal emerges from them without becoming a traumatized basket of nerves. Plus, while I do think human medical specialization has gone too far, I also think it’s unrealistic to believe that any general practice vet can be equally adept as a surgeon, dentist, anesthesiologist, oncologist, and all the other branches of medicine they routinely practice.
But when it comes to dealing with a sick patient in an office visit, it just became crystal clear to me that my expectations of my physician have been created not by childhood memories of Marcus Welby, but by the experience I have every time I take one of my pets to the vet.
I expect to have more than five minutes of my doctor’s time. I expect that if she needs to take blood or get an x-ray, I won’t have to get dressed, go to another department or even another building, stand in line at another reception desk, and wait for the techs to become available to draw my blood or takes pictures of my insides — all while I’m sick. I expect that she herself will call me when my test results come in, not just send me a postcard that if I haven’t heard from them, it means all is well. I expect … too much, clearly.
And it’s all because my vets practice a kind of medicine human doctors simply can’t practice anymore.
Although I recently read about a trend in “concierge medicine,” where a person or family pays a monthly fee to be part of a doctor’s practice. In return, you’re able to get same-day appointments, lengthy visits, and all your questions answered. Of course, you still need to have medical insurance in case you need surgery or tests or anything like that, but basically?
It’s a healthcare model where, if you’re rich enough, you get the kind of medical care a dog can.
All I can say is . . . . YES! You NAILED it!
Comment by The OTHER Pat — October 6, 2008 @ 5:40 am
I had a doctor like my vet. She was wonderful. She refused to join a group office. Her staff never changed (Mary and Karen, the best!), and she listened, questioned intelligently and insightfully, listened, educated and even sometimes lectured. She fought for her patients with her medical group and with the HMOs.
Finally, her medical group pushed her so hard to join a group office, spend less time with her patients, do less specialist referrals, etc., etc., that she decided to retire instead.
Now, I have a young doctor whose tendency is to hustle you in and out, but who, if you go in well-prepared and ask, ask, ask, has turned out to be informed and responsive.
Still not as good as my vet (or my previous primary care physician), but not as bad as it could be. I actually think as she gets older, she might be OK … she shows signs of growing into her professional self, and developing confidence in her ability to push the system.
My vet …. a great, great man. Always there for me, never afraid to say he doesn’t know — but he’ll find out, refers to specialists when in the pets’ best interest (and oversees the specialist like a mother hen). Cries with me when we have to let one go.
I didn’t realize what a rare gem I had in my prior physician until she retired. I absolutely do realize how wonder my veterinarian is.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — October 6, 2008 @ 6:34 am
Amen, Christie, Amen. Agree with you wholeheartedly and do exactly the same.
Comment by VJ — October 6, 2008 @ 4:30 pm
Amen to that. When was the last time you actually had your doctor give you a good, thorough physical exam? They’d rather reach for diagnostics, bloodwork, rads, anything except actually putting their hands on their patients. Blarg.
Comment by Megan — October 6, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
I hear there is a shortage of primary care physicians in Massachusetts. A lot of doctors go into more lucrative fields.
I think my present doctor doesn’t like me too much—I don’t always go along with his planned invasive testing.
I just took my cat to the veterinarian today and got all my questions answered. I really like him. If only my doctor was as easy to get along with and talk to as my veterinarian.
Comment by Colorado Transplant — October 6, 2008 @ 7:38 pm
While you definetly have a point, the main reason my pets visit the doctor more than I is that in their case, the person making the appointment is not the one who will be stuck with the needles. If there was ever a (bad) excuse to procrastinate…
Also, I can make an ‘annual physical’ style vet appointment for sometime next week. For the same at my regular doc, it’s nine months+ in advance. Who knows what I’ll be doing in nine months?
Comment by puppynerd — October 7, 2008 @ 11:28 am
Here’s something New Zealand is doing right- socialized medicine. My local doc’s office apologizes if they can’t get me seen that day. I might have to wait a day or two! Granted, I live on the outskirts of the city, so the city-dwellers wait longer to see their docs.
Take my advice, folks, don’t put off those annual physicals. My thyroid nodule was detected during my immigration physical, and that turned out to be cancerous. (I’m ok now).
Comment by Margaret — October 7, 2008 @ 4:15 pm