Doctors and Lawyers

Something else happened when I was sick that is really relevant here in the Trenches.  I had a primary care physician.  Let me tell you about my experience with this doctor.  My insurance carrier told me I had to have a new primary care physician.  I call this doctor's office and found they were taking new patients; and I asked to be able to designate them as my primary care physician.  They agreed, and then informed me that I had to have a physical with this doctor as a condition of being her patient, the first appointment they had for that was 5 months in the future, and that if I needed a referral before then, I was out of luck.  This doctor had come highly recommended and I'm rarely sick, so I agreed. I showed up on the day of my appointment and they forgot me in the waiting room.  Then the doctor spent a lot of time telling me about their divorce and not really asking me anything about me - I was not wonderfully comfortable.

Fast forward 1.5 years later, and I'm really sick.  I really didn't care for this doctor, so I didn't want to make an appointment, even though I needed one.  Then I called their office.  It was business hours, but they didn't answer.  People are busy, so I left a message; they never called me back. Then I went online to their online appointment scheduler; there were no appointments for 3 months, even for a sick visit.  So, I went to urgent care. They treated me.  1.5 weeks later, I was still really sick, and again there were no appointments with my primary care, so I went back to urgent care, and saw a different person.  They prescribed a different treatment.  4 days later, I'm still just as sick.  I thought, what should I do?

At that point, I thought about my own practice. If I had been a client instead of a patient, what would I have told myself?  I would have said that lawyers and their clients are like dogs and their owners.  In a successful relationship, we resemble each other in our outlook in life and approach to resolving disputes.  I would have also said that your divorce lawyer will know more about you than you ever wanted anyone to know, and so you had better be comfortable with them and their staff, or you will be reluctant to share necessary information with them or to call them at all.  At that point, it hit me like a ton of bricks that I had not taken my own advice when it came to choosing a doctor.  I am certain this doctor is a good doctor - good recommendations count for a lot, and the existing patients love this person.  This doctor is not the right doctor for me, just as I am not the right lawyer for everyone.

About a decade ago, I had a primary care doctor I loved.  8 years ago, she decided to become a concierge doctor.  Although the annual fee for her service was not that expensive, I had no health issues at all.  I didn't feel like I could justify the cost.  As I went through primary care physician after primary care physician, and finally having no physician except my gynecologist, I kept thinking of this doctor and how I trusted her.  Finally, as I was so sick and not getting better, having no continuity of care, and having no one who I could call who I trusted, I looked up her number and gave her office a call.  The woman who answered the phone was like Chrystal at my office; I felt like she really cared.  I paid the darn fee, and she got me an appointment for later that same day.  I showed up, and my doctor was exactly as I remembered her.  She was thorough.  She answered all my questions (including all the really stupid ones that were ridiculous but were keeping me up at night); she and I had a rapport.  She ordered the tests I needed.  I felt better immediately, not because of the medication or the tests she prescribed, but because I knew I was in good hands.  I felt safe and secure that my issues would be handled and all my questions would be answered.  I think she's an excellent doctor, but she is probably no better or worse a doctor than the other one.  The difference is the relationship, and that relationship makes her a better doctor for me.  The relationship, more than technical prowess, makes one lawyer better than another....for you.  Here in the Trenches.