If, on the other hand, you have a generalized distrust of modern medicine and tend to say no to any intervention, you deny yourself the benefits of the many marvelous scientific advances of this century. Learning to say no on occasion may not win you any popularity contests, but it may improve your medical care. Becoming responsible for a healthy lifestyle Part of becoming an involved patient includes accepting responsibility for the part you play in your own health. This includes developing a lifestyle that increases the chances of staying healthy. Eating a good diet, exercising, limiting smoking and drinking, and avoiding stress are all under your control, not your doctor's.
Many illnesses have some lifestyle components.
The doctor is seen only after a certain amount of damage has been done. When you shoulder your part of the burden and encourage the doctor to carry his part, you are well on the way to a satisfying health care partnership. I trust all my doctors to be entirely human. I also trust them to care, to want to do a good job, to try to stay on top of things and never make a mistake. And don't forget, as with any profession, there is a spectrum from good to bad, and every doctor lies somewhere along it at any time, and it might vary a lot.