Striking a Match: Ideal Doctor/Ideal Patient

Are you and your doctor a good fit? If you feel that way, it’s a good sign. Your health is so central to who you are, so important to how well you function and enjoy life, your doctor can be one of your most valued life partners.

“In health care, it’s most important that the needs of the patient are met,” explains Vicki Rackner, M.D., a Seattle surgeon. “I believe this partnership between doctor and patient is where the magic happens. It’s an intimate relationship.”

Finding the right fit means taking into account not only the traits you’re looking for in a physician, but also what the doctor looks for in a patient, Dr. Rackner suggests. “Every doctor has his or her own style and idea of an ideal patient.”

“Ask yourself, ‘If I could meet my ideal doctor, what qualities would he or she have?’ ” says Dr. Rackner.

Ability to communicate

A doctor should explain your condition clearly enough that you can make important treatment choices and self-manage your own care. But while some patients want to know all the risks they face, others prefer to know less and let their doctors make the toughest choices for them.

“What’s your optimal information dose, and is that level a good match with your doctor?” asks Dr. Rackner.

Capacity to listen

Some doctors listen only long enough to order the first medical test or write a prescription.

“How important is it for you to find a doctor who will listen to your story?” asks Dr. Rackner. “Many patients long to be healed, not just cured. I think the best path to healing is through storytelling.”

Gender

If you have a strong preference for a male or female doctor, honor that need.

Age

Some people prefer an older doctor with decades of experience. Others are more comfortable with a younger doc who’s up on all the latest technologies and treatments.

Openness to spirituality

“I did surgery one month at an Adventist hospital in Bangkok,” says Dr. Rackner. “Before each operation, the anesthesiologist, the surgeon, and all the O.R. staff would bow their heads in prayer as the patient lay on the operating table. While it’s unlikely you can get an entire surgical team to pray like this, chances are if it’s important to you, your surgeon may agree to pray with you before an operation.”

Insurance affiliation

Is your doctor on your health insurance plan? If not, you’ll have to pay more.

Technical skills

Skills are especially important in a specialist. If you have a particular condition, ask how many of the doctor’s patients have this condition. A higher number suggests a higher level of skill and experience. You also can call the hospital with which a doctor is affiliated or contact your state’s medical licensing board to ask if any complaints have been lodged against him or her.

Information about individual doctors can be found online at DoctorFinder (http://www.ama-assn.org) and http://www.healthgrades.com. Listen to your intuition, too.

The ideal patient

From the doctor’s perspective, Dr. Rackner says, these are some of the traits they may value in a patient:

• Ability to communicate. Does your doctor welcome passive patients or prefer ones who explain their symptoms well, ask questions, and convey their goals for the office visit? Your own goal for a given visit may be to obtain a diagnosis, determine a treatment, or obtain more information.

• Interest in partnering. Some doctors like playing almost a parental role. Others prefer their patients to act as partners—to learn about their conditions and play an active role in treatment decisions and self-care. The proactive attitude is more likely to benefit patients, Dr. Rackner notes.

• Ability to “renegotiate.” At the end of an office visit, your doctor will recommend a treatment plan. “You can think of that plan as a verbal contract,” Dr. Rackner suggests. “If you’re not going to keep up your end of the bargain, go back and renegotiate.” This means mentioning your concerns about a medication’s high cost or its side effects, for example.

• Preparation for office visits. Many doctors like a prepared patient. “Most people wouldn’t go to an appointment with an accountant with a bag of receipts, but that’s what some people do when they go to their doctors—they just bring a bag of symptoms. They haven’t organized their thoughts and written them down,” says Dr. Rackner.

Not sure what your doctor prefers?

“It may be best to just ask, ‘What kind of patient do you work best with?’” Dr. Rackner says. “It’s all about ensuring you and your doctor are a good fit—because in the end, good health care depends on teamwork.”