Dr. Thompson's Blog

Finding a Different Doctor

During this time of the Corona virus, some doctors are not seeing patients or taking calls. If you have had a bad experience with a physician before this, it could  be time to start looking for another M.D. There are some tips about how to find one who will meet your needs. First, I would talk to friends to see if they have a recommendation. Talking to a doctor friend can be good, but not if he or she has no knowledge of the doctor's medical practice, but just knows the M.D. from a golf, health, or tennis club.  When you have a  good referral, I would suggest checking your state's medical board website to see if any malpractice lawsuits are listed or are there any negative comments. Remember there could be patients who may or may not have a valid complaint. Often insurance companies want to settle lawsuits and not go to court when a complaint may not be valid.

I would want to know if the doctor takes his or her own calls or allows the nurse or nurse practitioner to answer them. I always took my own calls and would never have employed a nurse practitioner. I also will not go to an M.D. who lets a nurse practitioner do a lot of the work. They do not have the necessary training. Their total number of training is about 1500  hours compared with the 15,000 or more hours of training an M.D. 

I would want to find out what hospital or hospitals the doctor has staff privileges and what insurance the doctor accepts or is he or she part of an HMO?  Also will the doctor meet you on an emergency at a hospital or leave the care to the ER doctors? If you are pleased with the answers you get then you can send a note to your previous doctor and ask that your medical records be sent to the new doctor. I would check back within a few days to be sure they have been sent. Then once you have an appointment, if you are not happy with the office or the doctor you may need to change again. I fly a long distance to see a specific specialist because my local ones are not thorough and have poorly run offices.  

Getting a Second or Third Opinion On-Line

If you have a question about advice or a diagnosis you have been given by a physician, it  is always wise to get a second or third opinion. It could even save your life. There is a lot of misinformation on the Internet, but also some excellent information. One of the best resources is the Mayo Clinic at www.mayoclinic.com. I now refer all neuromuscular cases to Dr, Selcen at the Mayo Clinic because there are few well trained neuromuscular specialists in the U.S. Other countries do a far better job than we do with these patients. For information about cancer, the American Cancer Society is worth checking but I would want to check with another oncologist about any cancer diagnosis. I did this for my daughter when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sadly, the care she received at the Cancer Center ins New Mexico was very bad resulting in her death. WebMD is usually an excellent source www.webmd.com. Specific diseases have web sites such as the American Diabetes Association, www.diabetes.org.

If you can get a second opinion from a MD, who is a specialist in the disorder you want to know about, that is best. Never be afraid to do lots of research and ask a lot of questions. When I was in private practice and wanted answers, I always called one of the top specialists in the field. I  found this an easy thing to do. Usually the top experts are most generous with their time. I still help people around  the world find specialists for children or  adults with neuromuscular disorders and am glad to do so.  

Masks, Social Distancing, and the Corona Virus

I am puzzled by all the people who are demanding that everything be opened when the corona virus is so lethal and catching. I live now in a beach town and am amazed at all the people without masks, eating, and strolling around in groups. Don't they have any idea of what the virus can do? I guess they have never had to care for a patient in an ICU struggling to stay alive.  I have British friends who remember the World War II bombings as small children and the fear they had. We have been protected from all the wars this country has been involved in because they have not been on our land.  My father, brother, and husband were in the military and I know the toll it took on them.  My older brother was never the same after the second World War. 

We all would like things to get back to normal, have people get back their jobs and be able to pay their bills. But unless we do what is necessary to stop the spread of the corona virus, it is going to be a long haul. If everything is open too early, the country and all of us are going to pay a high price. Trump is not worrying about lives being lost but about the economy. His re-election is all that matters to him. As a physician I find that appalling when I have had to work so hard to keep many people alive. As parents and grandparents, we know  the lives of our children are at stake and we  must be very careful to follow the safety procedures which have worked well in some other countries.

Red Blanket Hospital Patients

When I was a Stanford Medical student, we treated all patients the same. Part of my training was at the excellent San Francisco County Hospital. We saw everything from tuberculosis (a whole ward) to Syphilis, Gonorrhea and even Leprosy. Now many medical students are just seeing routine heart and other patients except for the Corona virus. I wish they could have the wonderful experience we did at the two hospitals where we were trained. Now I am told by physicians that many medical schools and hospitals are mainly catering to the rich and affluent. These patients are given red blankets on their beds to distinguish them from those who do not have their wealth. I find that appalling. I realize that particularly now with the corona virus that hospitals are losing money because they are not able to do the elective surgeries that they did previously. How sad that plastic surgeons are no longer able to do all their cosmetic procedures for which they charge a great deal. I say this in jest because I have cared for many poor and disabled children and teens, many of whom have little or no money or good health coverage. 

Every individual has the right to good medical care and the idea that  people with wealth receive better care than others makes me very angry. That is not what medicine should be about. Having worked in a big London hospital, I saw no difference in how rich and poor patients were treated. Of course, those in the government receive the best of care, I am sure.

Not only do red blanket patients receive  excellent medical care, but they also are given gourmet food, have deluxe rooms and many other special services. Perhaps this pandemic will change the way we provide medical care in the U.S. so it is more equal. I certainly can hope.  

. 

Why Are So Many Medical Students and M.Ds Committing Suicide?

The suicide rate  among male medical students and physicians now in the U.S. is now 40% greater than the general population.  Sadly, the suicide rate among women medical students and physicians is 130% higher. In my medical school class at Stanford, two of our classmates committed suicide. Of course at that time there were just 2-3 women medical students  in each class. Now they constitute more than 50%. One of the reasons I suspect is today the students have no idea how difficult their days and nights can be. The students and residents today also don't know how different it is from when I was a medical student and resident. We worked every other day for 24 hours, whereas today, I am told, the students are on call at night only every three days. 

In thinking about what is going on I have a feeling that because the medical schools are just accepting A students, many of them come from private schools, families with money, and have no idea what the real working world is like. Several in my class did what I did to be able to go to medical school. I worked after school and summers from the time I was in my teens to be able to afford Stanford. Even though  a professor at Scripps College established a scholarship at Stanford  for me to go to undergraduate and medical school, I still had to pay for transportation etc. My father's top salary as a professor at Pomona College was $7000 as head of the department. My scholarship is still there for a woman who wants to become a doctor. What a great gift Miss Eyre gave me. 

Another reason I suspect the women are committing suicide is that they have no balance in their lives. It is all medicine and dating, having fun etc. are not things they have figured out how to do.