There is so often the “typical” office visit experience when it comes to primary care: Sit in the waiting room, run vitals, wait some more, meet with the doctor for 10 minutes, grab a prescription note and be on your way.

Beyond the inefficient use of time, most doctors seem to breeze through conversations about your concerns, and leave you feeling unheard and, worst of all, unconfident about your path to better health.

A big reason for the healthcare crisis is the very little time that most doctors allot per visit. This is ultimately a doctor’s choice. So here’s what you can expect from your first visit (and visits to come) at Confidia.

I Need Time to Do My Job

When my patients put their health in my hands, I take this responsibility very seriously. In order for us to determine a proper treatment plan together, you need to be comfortable in telling me everything about yourself – your family history, your social history, your past.

This part of the process cannot be rushed.

Going through your family and personal history takes time, and the time we take to get to know one another is going to help build a relationship based on trust. When it comes to handing over the reins of your health, trust is everything.

The truth is, primary care is a double-edged sword. As a practitioner, I have no idea who’s coming through the door; it could be a person with simple needs or one with very complex issues.

The current healthcare system dictates that doctors need to stay on time, and we need to see a higher volume of patients in order to remain profitable. Modern medicine pushes us to go over everything in fifteen minutes or less.

This is something I refuse to accept. I cannot do my job in fifteen minutes or less, and I wouldn’t want to. If a patient needs me for any urgent or serious matter, I will be with them for however long it takes. I refuse to sacrifice high-quality medical care to simply stay on a “profitable” schedule.

Tell Me Everything

Through my two decades of experience – and with the help of the advanced testing that I now incorporate into my practice – I realize the importance of getting a complete history. A complete history does not just include your medications, your latest labs, and your surgeries in the last ten years; It also includes a detailed family and social history.

As an example of my detailed history-taking, one of my patients had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of thirty-five. I’d previously learned that even the mildest of concussions can interfere with the hypothalamus-pituitary axis, where most hormones are created. The consequences of this disruption can come five to ten years later, in the form of what appears to be a psychiatric disease.

When I dug deeper with this patient, he let me know that he was very active in sports in his twenties and thirties, and had sustained a few mild concussions. We checked his hormone levels, and discovered the head injuries he sustained 10-20 years prior had led to the misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder in his forties.

If I had not asked him to tell me everything about his life, I never would have discovered his hormone imbalance. We addressed his issues with hormone replacement, and he was able to stop his bipolar medication.

We never would have come to this life-changing conclusion had it not been for an extensive look into his social history.

Hold Nothing Back

Patients come to me from other practitioners, often because they were frustrated with the care that they received. Out of respect for the other doctors, my patients will first try to hold back from telling me why they left that particular doctor. I simply tell them to hold nothing back. I need to know your expectations, and your disappointments in your previous healthcare providers, so I can avoid making the same mistakes.

My style and approach are different from most conventional doctors, but it’s always good to know where my patients are coming from. Tell me your frustrations with the current healthcare system, tell me about your lifestyle – and don’t leave anything out. It’s all for getting you on a path to true health.

This all circles back to being comfortable with me. The doctor-patient relationship is no different from any other and should be an open and honest one.
Being truthful with me will only get you to our goal of achieving your optimal wellness that much sooner.

I Hear You

One of the greatest pieces of advice I ever received was from my mother. She said, “Truly listen to your patients, and you will get the diagnosis 95 percent of the time.”

I took it to heart.

I want you to understand that I am listening, and I am creating an atmosphere that will provide the time and environment for you to truly be heard.

This is the Confidia difference. It is only when we spend the time together that your diagnosis will become clear, 95 percent of the time.