Makkah newspaper

A SAUDI newspaper recently published a study, which revealed that doctors listen to their patients an average of 11 seconds before prescribing medicines. There is truth in this number, but at the same time it is an unfair estimate. I believe this number is true in most cases but it is untrue in other cases as there are doctors who listen and speak to their patients up to11 minutes before prescribing the course of treatment.

It seems as if it is not the doctor’s duty to explain the health condition of a patient because of lethargy. He will never talk to the patient about the details of the illness as he gets tired and bores of making such explanations. This is generally the opinion of patients toward doctors.

You can see rarely doctors who speak to you for a long time, explaining your health conditions and clearing all your doubts, as you desire. The doctor's words are like gold so you can expect only one-way talk during a consultation. Here listening is compulsory on patients and optional for doctors. Some doctors want the patient to recover without talking to him/her. Some others simply ask, “What is your problem?

During consultation a doctor may get up before you explain your problems saying he has to see a patient next door. But you cannot see that room or patient. It’s a trick followed by most doctors to end their talk with a patient and they don’t want to tell it flatly.

There are some doctors who deal with patients like cows. It was an opinion expressed by an experienced doctor, who is also a columnist in a national newspaper. These doctors tell their patients to come to hospital on a particular day for surgical procedures and complete all the operations within three or four hours. It shows their disrespect for patients.

In the past it was like the doctors knew everything and the patients did not know anything. Many patients did not speak English. Now things have changed. If a doctor tells two words about a patient’s condition, the latter will google those words instantly and get all the details on his cell phone. Patients can find the latest developments in the management of their disease in both Arabic and English.

When a doctor explains to his assistant or nurse about the patient’s condition, the latter will be able to understand everything unlike in the past. So doctors will no anger be able to keep things secret. This is a major achievement thanks to the blessings of God.

In the past even well-qualified doctors did not explain the negative effects of medicines they prescribed to patients, the effect of medicines containing cortisone, for example. Now most patients will ask doctors what medicines they are writing for them. They will also read the description of medicines inside the box and return the medicine to the pharmacist if they find it problematic.

Finally, I would like to suggest that the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties should insist that doctors should learn how to deal with patients nicely as part of their education, in order to reduce their haughtiness toward patients. Some doctors are patients who need treatment, and their patients should certify whether they can do the job efficiently or should be given a vacation. This will give SCFHS an idea whether such doctors should be allowed to continue in the profession or not.

I was wondering about the number 11 in the aforementioned study. Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho has written a novel titled “11 Minutes”, while the study reveals that doctors listen to patients only for 11 seconds.