I enjoyed participating in the inaugural Diabetes Hope Conference on Tuesday. I think it was a huge success, with one interesting twist. During the second panel, there was a health care professional who – on more than one occasion – stated that he would “fire” patients for doing or not doing certain things (if you are curious, you can view the archived videos, I’m sure).
I’m curious how people feel about providers “firing” patients. I am a firm believer that it’s all about the patient and not the provider. When a provider fires a patient, it seems to me that they are making it about themself – the provider – and what works for them. I love this image with the patient in the center of the wheel – the patient drives their health care.
Have any of you ever been “fired” by a health care provider? What about the flipside – have any of you ever “fired” a provider? If so, why?
It is very helpful for diabetes professionals to know what people who live with diabetes are experiencing at health care visits. This knowledge can help to improve our bedside manner, delivery of care, etc. What experiences have you had – good or bad – with your diabetes or general health care professionals? What suggestions do you have for improvement?