3:38am February 20, 2014

“The average American physician interrupts their patient in 14 seconds.”

Abraham Verghese

Holy crap is this ever true, and many of them interrupt very impatiently.  They’re so busy already thinking about the next patient they’ll see, at which point they’re thinking about the next patient they’ll see, that they often don’t concentrate on the patients who are right in front of them, and therefore never really see any of us in the here and now, and treat all of us as if we are interrupting their appointment with their future patients, who are interrupting their appointment with their future patients, and so on down the line until it makes no sense anymore for them to think they’re concerned about their time with any patient.  (Patients are expected to have infinite patience, doctors are not expected to have to have any patience whatsoever.)

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