读者文摘:如何找到值得信任的医生(1)（在线收听）

In 2011, my husband, Pete, began having strange episodes of light-headedness.

2011年，我丈夫皮特开始出现奇怪的头晕目眩。

They lasted less than a minute and often happened when he exercised.

它们持续时间不到一分钟，而且经常发生在他锻炼的时候。

He went to see his longtime primary care physician, who suspected he was dehydrated.

他去看了他的长期初级护理医师，医生怀疑他是脱水。

She prescribed Gatorade. But the episodes got more frequent and severe.

她给皮特开了佳得乐。但是头晕变得更加频繁和严重。

One night at dinner with the kids, Pete completely zoned out.

一天晚上，在和孩子们吃晚饭时，皮特完全失了神。

He didn’t understand what we were saying, and he wasn’t able to get any words out.

他听不懂我们在说什么，他也说不出任何话。

We immediately called his doctor, but we couldn’t get her on the phone.

我们立即打电话给他的医生，但是电话无法接通。

Her nurse referred us to a neurologist, but he had a six-week wait for an appointment.

她的护士把我们介绍给一位神经科医生，但预约要等六个星期。

After some begging, we got in sooner, and he sent Pete for an MRI.

经过一番恳求，我们很快就预约上了，他让皮特去做核磁共振。

The scan showed that Pete had a brain tumor the size of a golf ball.

扫描显示，皮特有一个高尔夫球大小的脑瘤。

Thankfully, after a long and harrowing journey, Pete has fully recovered,

谢天谢地，经过一段漫长而痛苦的治疗，皮特已经完全康复了，

but my experience navigating that medical crisis now helps inform and inspire my work as a health-care journalist.

但我在那次医疗危机中度过的经历，现在对我作为一名医疗记者的工作提供了帮助和启发。

If I had to distill everything I’ve learned over the years as a patient, spouse, parent, and medical reporter into one lesson, it’s this: Trust but verify.

如果把我多年来作为病人、配偶、父母和医学记者所学到的一切浓缩成一个经验，那就是：信任但要验证。

While I believe most doctors have our best interests at heart, our system is deeply flawed.

虽然我相信大多数医生都把我们的最大利益放在心上，但我们的制度存在严重缺陷。

Medical errors are estimated to be the third-leading cause of death in the United States— in fact,

据估计，医疗事故是美国第三大死亡原因——事实上，

most of us will receive an incorrect or late diagnosis at least once in our lives,

根据国家医学研究院的分析，我们大多数人一生中至少会有一次被误诊或延误诊断，

often with serious consequences, according to a National Academy of Medicine analysis.

这通常会导致严重的后果。

News headlines about outrageous bills, conflicts of interest, and depersonalized care plant more seeds of doubt.

关于天价账单、利益冲突和非人性化护理的头条新闻则播下了更多怀疑的种子。

Doctors are keenly aware of the problems, but many of the underlying circumstances are beyond their control.

医生们敏锐地意识到了这些问题，但许多潜在的情况是他们无法控制的。

Electronic record keeping, a boon to efficiency in many ways,

电子记录保存在许多方面都有利于提高效率，

takes an average of nearly six hours of a primary care physician’s day— more time than is spent with patients.

但它平均每天要花一个初级护理医师近6个小时的时间——比和病人在一起的时间还多。