Friday, May 30, 2008

Doctor I want your mobile phone number.. Me: Why?


I am always surprised when I get asked that question .. when did patients think they have the right to invade the privacy of the doctors personal life and think that they should have accesses to them 24/7 .. doctors are humans as well and have privet lives and families that they need to have away from their patients.. don't get me wrong I am not saying that if an emergency arises patients shouldn't have an access to a doctor but in every hospital they always have a system that there is a doctor on-call that can handle emergency situations till the next day when the specialized doctor is available and that doctor on call is the person that can decide if the situation needs a more specialized opinion that precise moment or if that can wait till morning when the patient can get to his own doctor.. all the doctors can be reached during working hours and through the hospital but being a doctor is a job like any other job and we need to be away from it as humans and have our own lives away from it like any other person.. its a very human job and very giving I know.. and we never want to lose that aspect of it and we never underestimate the needs of our patients .. but the patients also have to remember that we are human as well and we have lives to go to outside the doors of the hospital that we have to attend to as well.. so why would a patient think they have a right to invade it in the middle of the night or during dinner time with the family when its not an emergency and even if so there is a doctor already that is specialized to handle it in the hospital..

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3 comments:

Ammaro said...

yeah, its ridiculous... i used to get some clients back when i was a bank manager asking for my number...

anyway, one of them called me at like 3 in the morning asking about a loan... what the hell !

since then, i got two numbers, one i give to bank clients, and its almost always off unless im in the office. the other, is mine ;)

rosh said...

Whoa! hang on, was the *patient* single, handsome, well to do - and sensible (ok somewhat sensible?) I say, extend your number doc :) K am kidding, well sorta :)

Lilliy said...

Ammaro.. I know since I have back in Jeddah I have been told that I should get another phone with another # that I would give out to patients that a lot of the privet sector doctors give it to patients to keep them as " Clients " ( yes unfortunately some or lets be honest a lot of people and doctors look at medicine as a business ) so they don't go to another doctor.. but that is just plain ridiculous.. I am against it as a concept.. I am a doctor but hay I am human and I don't have to be accessible 24/7 when I am not on call.. and no one has the right to disturb me in my privet life..
Rosh... lol... no unfortunately ;) most are old boldy married men.. that are going through middle age crises.. lol.. no I work in the privet sector so a lot of my patients are just plain spoiled which I don't mind but then these greedy doctors got them in this bad habit of giving out their # bow patients here just got used to it..