W. Gray Mason, Jr., M.D., President Medicine is becoming more like a business and less a profession. The change has been turbulent, with a decrease in the autonomy of physicians and the economic health of the profession. Most doctors hate being called health care providers, and we resent thinking of our patients as customers or clients. The radical transformation of medical care threatens the doctor-patient relationship, the very foundation of our profession. I've always thought that doctors made more of the doctor-patient relationship than patients did.
Many patients think of physicians as paternalistic authority figures.
Others bridle at waiting for months for the first available appointment. Patients are forever complaining about a very long wait for a very short doctor's visit. And if the scheduling clerk is on coffee break, the patient has to call back. L.L. Bean and Land's End will answer your call 24 hours a day with knowledgeable staff. They can take your order whenever you call, and they usually get your merchandise to you in a couple of days.