When someone initially goes to the doctor, they may have been thinking about their health condition for days, weeks or even months. They may have spent time trying to figure out what was wrong on their own. They may have asked other family members and friends.
In other words, when they arrive at the doctor’s office, it’s very important for them to sit down and explain what’s going on. This is the best way for the doctor to learn about their condition and make an accurate diagnosis. It just takes time for people to relate the story of how the issue began, what symptoms they have, what changes they think may have caused it, related issues they have in their medical history and much more.
This is why it’s such a problem that doctors tend to interrupt their patients after just 11 seconds. Studies have found that doctors will quickly jump in without letting their patients finish telling this very important story about their medical history. If the doctor then fails to get the information they need and makes an incorrect diagnosis or provides the wrong type of treatment, it could be an example of medical malpractice.
Why do doctors do this?
Most doctors are honestly trying to provide a high level of care. But the biggest issue that they face is that they are in a hurry. They may have many patients to see, they may already feel like they are behind, and so they will quickly interrupt the patient to try to rush them through the story. The doctor just wants to make a quick diagnosis and move on.
But patients don’t deserve to have the accuracy of that diagnosis sacrificed just because of a packed schedule. They must know what legal options they have.