读者文摘:如何找到值得信任的医生(6)（在线收听）

Similarly, if your doctor offers a “cutting-edge treatment” not covered by insurance, look it up before you pay up.

同样地，如果你的医生提供了一种没有在保险范围内的“尖端治疗”，在你付钱之前先查看一下。

I learned this lesson the hard way, when my podiatrist recommended a series of laser treatments for the arthritis in my big-toe joint.

在我的足病医生建议我对大脚趾关节的关节炎进行一系列激光治疗后，我得到了这个惨痛的教训。

Five treatments and $750 later, my toe actually felt worse.

经过五次治疗和花费750美元之后，我的脚趾感觉更糟了。

“The treatments don’t work for everyone,” explained the doctor somewhat apologetically before she rushed off to see her next patient.

“这种疗法并不是对每个人都有效，”医生有点抱歉地解释说，然后她就匆匆赶去看下一个病人。

I later googled the type of laser therapy she’d used, and while some small studies showed good results, others were inconclusive.

后来我在谷歌上搜索了她使用的激光疗法的类型，虽然一些小型研究显示效果不错，但其他研究却没有定论。

More ominously, perhaps, the device manufacturer’s website touted its profit-producing potential:

或许更糟糕的是，这家设备制造商在其网站上大肆宣扬其盈利潜力：

“Start Creating a Cash-Based Division in Your Practice with Laser Therapy.”

“开始在你的激光治疗实践中创建一个基于现金的部门。”

When Pete was at the Duke hospital for his brain surgery,

皮特在杜克医院做脑部手术的时候，

we wanted to connect with his medical team even though we would be there for just a short time—as with any relationship,

我们想与他的医疗团队取得联系，尽管我们在那里只待很短的一段时间——就像任何关系一样，

I believed that personalizing our interactions would help ensure the best care.

我相信个性化我们的互动将有助于确保最好的治疗。

I placed a family photo in the recovery room,

我在恢复室放了一张全家福，

not just to comfort Pete but also to remind the hospital staff that he was a husband and a father to three young children.

这不仅是为了抚慰皮特，也是为了提醒医院的工作人员，他是一个丈夫和三个孩子的父亲。

I delivered bags of homemade chocolate-chip cookies to Pete’s nurses.

我给皮特的护士送了几袋自制的巧克力脆片饼干。

And we gave the surgeon a note from our eight-year-old daughter.

我们给了外科医生一张我们八岁女儿的便条。

It said “Please take care of my daddy.” When they finally took Pete into the operating room, I shed tears for the first time.

上面写着：“请照顾我爸爸。”“当他们最终把皮特带进手术室时，我第一次流下了眼泪。