Doctor's used to be trained to be the super achievers with legendary ego's. They were the super heroes who rushed in and saved people's lives all by themselves. People looked to them as the one to save them.
Then things changed and medical care expanded explosively. Its no longer a doctor who treats you but a team of specialists. All doctors became specialists. Even your primary care physician is a specialist. And they probably have a team of nurses, nurse practitioners, office staff and more working for them as do all the other doctors on your team.
Each specialist needs to talk to the other one's on your team. They need to use checklists to make sure that every question is asked, every i is dotted and every t is crossed. All these different perspectives mean more information is uncovered which can lead to better care and fewer mistakes.
As patients who shuffle between PCPs, medical oncologists, pain management, radiation oncologists, psychologists, and more, we need to make sure they are talking to each other and your needs are being met. So you as the patient needs to join the team. Its all about you so it has to include you.
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