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 them 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. In a nutshell, your job is to listen to 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.
If you need help understanding your doctors advice or treatment plan ReAssured Advocacy can help. Call us today at 303-756-8436.
Reprinted with permission from Trisha Torrey, Every Patient’s Advocate: www.EveryPatientsAdvocate.com
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