读者文摘:如何找到值得信任的医生(2)

Most face-to-face visits are now about 15 minutes—and down to only 8 minutes in some parts of the country,

医学博士安德鲁·莫里斯-辛格是一家致力于改善初级护理的非营利组织“初级护理进步”的主席，

says Andrew Morris-Singer, MD, president of Primary Care Progress, a nonprofit working to improve primary care.

他说现在大多数面对面的接诊大约需要15分钟，在一些地区甚至缩短到8分钟，

“Physicians are literally¹ running from room to room,” he says.

他说，“医生们真的是从一个病房跑到另一个病房。”

“We have physicians tell us that they are constantly constipated because they can’t even stop to go to the bathroom.”

“有些医生告诉我们，他们经常便秘，因为他们甚至都没时间去上厕所。”

What’s more, insurance companies have cut doctors’ payments, forcing them to see more patients or invest in lucrative² sidelines

更重要的是，保险公司削减了医生的报酬，迫使他们看更多的病人或投资有利可图的副业

(such as selling supplements, medical devices, or imaging services) to keep their practices in the black.

（比如销售补品，医疗器械，或者影像服务）来让他们的业务保持盈利。

These changes have “driven a huge wedge” into the patient-physician relationship, Dr. Morris-Singer says. This is not a minor³ concern.

莫里斯-辛格博士说，这些变化“严重损害”了医患关系。这不是一个小问题。

Research shows that without trust a patient might not feel comfortable sharing information his or her physician needs to provide quality medical advice.

研究表明，如果没有信任，患者可能不愿意分享他或她的医生提供优质医疗建议所需的信息。

Patients who trust their health-care providers are more likely to follow their treatment plans,

信任医疗服务提供者的患者更有可能遵循他们的治疗计划，

have fewer symptoms, practice healthier behaviors, and be more satisfied with their care.

症状更少，行为更健康，对治疗更满意。

In addition, a doctor who knows you and your health history is less likely to overprescribe or send you for unnecessary tests.

此外，了解你和你的健康史的医生不太可能开药过量或让你做不必要的检查。

Finally, I believe a doctor is more likely to make an extra effort for you if you have a relationship.

最后，我认为，如果你们有关系的话，医生更有可能为你做出额外的努力。

It’s just human nature. Building that relationship takes time and care, and sometimes that’s still not enough.

这就是人类的天性。建立关系需要时间和关心，但是有时候这还不够。

Pete had been seeing his primary care doctor for almost a decade when he called about his light-headedness,

皮特去看他的初级护理医师已经将近十年了，当他打电话说他头晕的时候，

yet he still had to wait three weeks for an appointment.

他还是得等上三个星期才能预约。

Once he got in, she listened carefully as he described his symptoms, but she was out the door 15 minutes later.

进去后，她就仔细听他描述自己的症状，但15分钟后她就出门了。

Would more time have yielded a more accurate diagnosis⁴ or an earlier MRI? It’s hard to know.

多花些时间就能做出更准确的诊断，或者更早做核磁共振？这很难说。

Maybe we can do more as patients.

也许作为病人我们可以做得更多。

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

3 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

4 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。