Doctors shopping
Jul 29th, 2005 by Lilian
No, it is not a bunch of doctors going shopping during the Malaysian Mega Sale. It is a bunch of parents hunting around for the ‘ideal’ doctors like looking for a perfect pair of shoe.
Well, if you are an adult and sick, you can afford to go from MO to GP to specialist until you find someone you can click with. That is provided your medical costs are covered by the company (like me?).
But one should not do the same for their child. Don’t get jumpy. Listen why it is not wise to do so for a child. You may incur more problems than help if you do so for your little baby. Little baby cannot express what is making him sick. He cannot tell you if he is getting better or worse.
So, he needs the same constant doctor to track his progress. He needs the comfort of seeing the same familiar faces of the doctor and nurses.
But what if you feel the medicine given by Dr. ABC is not working? What if your mother-in-law told you that the neighbour’s aunty’s cousin-in-law grandchild gets miraculously cured of his asthma (there is not such thing as miracle cure for asthma, ok?) after seeing Dr. XYZ?
Well, it takes a very long article on how to avoid doctors shopping. I had written about ‘How to choose a paediatrician’ and touched on the finer art of communicating with your child’s doctors. Absorb what I had written because these are gleaned from real life situations in our Malaysian environment.
Do you know that ultimately, it is not the kind of doctor that you are seeing but rather, the kind of parent you are? Yes! The responsibility lies with us, the parents.
I would say that most doctors are equally good, whether they are child specialists or your neighbour General Practioners. That is provided you know how to ask smart and relevant questions and pin-point to them what exactly is wrong with your child.
Stay tune to this channel and I shall share more from my 15 years of doctors shopping. Yeah, I am a shopping freak.
Further read : Information at the speed of light
Doctor shopping at the speed of light
I thought I’d say something on this issue since Lilian posted a feedback ping to her article in Mom’s Daily.
Doctor shopping is extremely common in Malaysia and alot of it stems from anxiety - even more so if the patient is a child. I know…
Ya, a lot of people say ‘that doc’ not good but ‘this doc’ better. That’s because they see ‘that doc’ first, and the medicine ‘that doc’ gave takes few days to completely ‘cure’ him, coincidently it happens right after seeing ‘this doc’.
I too get the pressure to bring my son see ‘another doc’ when he doesn’t recover IMMEDIATELY. Always have to argue and right. Sigh!
I’m a first time pregnant mummy. I was wondering if the ladies would be so kind to share their experiences with doctors and some doctor recommendation. I know some people say it’s too early to worry about all this, but a friend of mine told me it’s important to get a good Pediatrition immediately after birth. Btw, I’m giving birth at the Damansara Hospital in January. If you are too shy to talk about your doctor online, please feel free to email me at jasmin_wedding@yahoo.com.
Hello Jasmin - Do join MyMomsBest forum and I am sure you will benefit greatly from discussing with the mothers there. We do not allow any recommendations of babysitters, confinement ladies, doctors and etc. Because the forum provider cannot guarantee anything.
However, on a personal side, Dr. Musa Nordin has been one of the most caring paediatrician I had ever met. He is great with children and especially newborns. Though I am from Penang, I had dealt with him online and met him. You are right that you should choose your paediatrician before birth instead of waiting for a doctor to be assigned to your baby. Most private hospitals ‘assign’ the babies according to the roster of the paediatrician.
lzbone - New parents always have this pressure of ‘am I doing it right?’ kinda thing. You will get used to it with time.
[...] A confident doctor will be pleased to help you out with your doubts. And if you meet one who shows his/her disapproval with your questioning, then doctor shopping may be in order! [...]