Do As You're Told!
(Compliance)
You’ve broken an arm, or you’re running a
fever, or you’ve developed a rash. A visit
to your doctor results in an order for a
drug, a bandage or cast, surgery, or another
treatment plan to help you heal or become
healthy again.
Or maybe you have
a chronic condition or disease, and you’re
consistently under a doctor’s care. At each
visit, your doctor reviews your treatment
plan and may make adjustments. The goal is
to help you manage your condition to improve
or maintain your health.
In either case,
your doctor did her job. She developed a
treatment plan. That’s what you expected,
and that’s what you, and your insurance
company, paid her to do.
So what’s your
job? Your job is to heal, or at least to
keep yourself from getting sicker. Your job
is to follow the treatment plan provided by
your doctor.
Sounds simple,
right?
Remarkably,
studies tell us that 50 to 75 percent of
patients don’t follow their doctors’
treatment plan. Either they don’t fill a
prescription, or they don’t change a
dressing, or they forget to take their
pills, or they fail to follow instructions
in some other way. Even more surprisingly,
the people with the chronic problems such as
hypertension, have the highest
non-compliance rates. Children, too, are
often victims of caregivers who fail to
follow a doctor’s instructions.
Do you do what
your doctor tells you? Are you a compliant
patient? Or are you among the majority who
don’t follow the plan prescribed by their
doctors?
Your doctor spent
many years in medical school, and has
experience to guide her treatment decisions.
She doesn’t make recommendations to improve
her own health; she makes them to improve
yours. By not complying with her plan, you
may be putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Yes, there are
times when a treatment isn’t helpful or it
may be incorrect, and it may make sense to
question it. If you think that’s the case,
then contact your doctor first, and discuss
the situation with her before you make any
changes yourself. It will give her an
opportunity to make adjustments if
necessary, and it’s a great way to work in
partnership with your doctor.
But being a sharp
patient means knowing that following your
doctor’s orders usually means a better
chance at healing or regaining your health.
Do yourself a favor by following her advice.
© 2006 Trisha Torrey
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