It can be very frustrating to go to the doctor and feel like they’re not even listening to you when you’re in the office. Maybe they just keep interrupting you and interjecting their own thoughts. Perhaps you feel like they are already thinking about the next appointment and not really giving you much time.
It’s not all in your head. Studies have found that doctors tend to interrupt their patients after a mere 11 seconds. This is an average, so there are certainly doctors who will listen for much longer. By the same token, though, this also signifies that there are doctors who don’t even give their patients a full 11 seconds to explain their condition.
Why does this happen?
In some cases, this happens just because doctors will make assumptions about what they think the condition is. They may make these assumptions based on their own experience, which is understandable. However, it’s important for them to fully investigate all of the symptoms and never to assume that they immediately know what’s happening, which could lead to a dangerous misdiagnosis.
In other cases, the issue really is that the doctor is too busy. They may honestly be thinking about the next appointment because they know they have to get through a set number of appointments that day and they’re already off of the schedule. This is not your fault as a patient, but it is an outside pressure that can change how your doctor treats you.
If all of this means that you have been harmed by a negligent physician, be sure you know exactly what legal options you have.
