What do you feel is missing? 

Should your doctor be available after-hours? 

Having been in healthcare education system and in active practice for almost 30 years, people say the most interesting things.

Most patients we encounter have stories of disappointment related to their healthcare providers and the American healthcare system on the whole. One of the things that frustrates me the most about healthcare in the USA is private insurance premiums and lack of access to our doctors when we need them most.

The biggest complaint of the system on the whole among our patients is the price, private insurance denials and unfairness, and the fact that it takes too long to see the doctor. Once you see the doctor, they disappear until the next visit.  The United States is the only first world nation without universal healthcare, and we are ranked last among first world nations for quality of care. Their universal healthcare doesn’t make them a socialist country, but instead relieves the stress of worrying about healthcare and medical bill bankruptcy that is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the USA. Don’t be fooled, the doctors in other countries learn the same science and get the same training in their countries as we do here. It’s better than here according to the statistics.

This past weekend I received two inquiries from local patients that are members of other offices. They felt bad this weekend and didn’t have anyone to reach out to, so they reached out to us. They didn’t have access to their chiropractic team during the weekend or after-hours when they found themselves in a bad spot. I reached out to both of these patients of other offices letting them know that I would be unable to see them as new patients over the weekend but that we’d see them if necessary at the beginning of the week if they didn’t want to choose the easier path of just returning to the office that they are already a member of. We offered to help guide them until they could see their chiropractor again, but all of this should have been covered by their doctor. We never received responses from them after our reply.

Our office asks a lot of questions. Why didn’t they reply after we tried to help them? Didn’t they want help and that’s why they desperately reached out when their office wouldn’t give them weekend access? Perhaps they didn’t want to wait until Monday? Maybe, without knowing us, their expectations of our office were higher than the office that they belong to? If this is how they don’t communicate, maybe that’s why their current office doesn’t share their contact info with them for after-hours? Does their lack of gratitude for an office going the extra mile for them even when they are not a patient in our office, reflect why their current office doesn’t want to deal with them over the weekend? There’s no way to know, but it makes you wonder.

All of our patients have 24/7 access to direct communication with me, Dr. Lou. I give my cell phone number to all of our patients, and as long as they are following their treatment plan, they can call or text me anytime. There is no reason why you should not be able to reach your provider if you find yourself in tough situation, to ask them a quick question. While provider personal time is important and should be respected, they should also be willing to help when “off the clock”.  The doctor patient relationship is built on trust and communication. So….here is my recommendation to everyone:

Treat others the way you would like to be treated: Be responsible and punctual if you expect that of others. Follow through if you want others to follow through. Respect the time and effort of others, if you want them to do the same for you. If you want help and providers to respect you, listen to you, and provide you with concierge type care, you need to be respectful, listen well, and behave according to the “rules” of the luxury, concierge, highly respectful clinic and their providers.

Quid Pro Quo.

Dr. Lou Jacobs is a chiropractor and acupuncturist in Portland, Maine. His office has been at 138 St. John Street in Portland since 2003. (207) SPINAL-1