The danger of overworked and distracted doctors seeing patients

On Behalf of Mallilo & Grossman Attorneys at Law | Oct 13, 2020 | blog |

Insurance often doesn’t cover as much as it once did, meaning that a surprise doctor’s visit can destroy your budget. Additionally, medical facilities are often full of sick people, making them dangerous because of the risk of catching someone else’s illness while waiting or due to cross-contamination.

All of that can lead to people putting off doctor visits until they absolutely have to have treatment and answers because their symptoms are frustrating or impacting their quality of life. Unfortunately, even when you finally decide that you need to go see the doctor, you might not get the care and consideration you need.

Quite a few physicians have more patients than they can reasonably care for in order to turn a profit for their employers, which means that they will only give you the tiniest amount of their attention and focus.

Many doctors can’t even spare a quarter of a minute for their patients

You may have had to wait several days for an appointment and then wait outside the office in the waiting room once you arrived. Even after someone brings you back to an exam room, the doctor will probably keep you waiting for a bit longer, all for an appointment that you may have to pay quite a bit to have.

With as much time and money as you have to invest in a single appointment, you probably expect that your doctor will give you their undivided attention and make the trip worth your visit. Sadly, many doctors will only spend about 11 seconds listening to the concerns of their patients before they start making decisions on their own.

Such a short attention span due to burnout and heavy workloads can mean that doctors miss important information from their patients or don’t give them the opportunity to explain their symptoms fully. Overworked doctors may not look for the most accurate explanation but rather the fastest one. They might jump to conclusions instead of ruling out other concerns before diagnosing someone.

The result of physicians not giving their patients enough attention may be a misdiagnosis or even a failure to reach any diagnosis at all. Such a critical failure can lead to adverse outcomes for patients and liability for the doctor involved.