Why do patients hesitate to change IVF doctors when they are dissatisfied ?

It is common for a patient to experience failures with IVF not just once but several times. In addition, many patients are also dissatisfied with the kind of medical services provided by their clinic of choice. What is astonishing is that nevertheless, they choose to continue with the same clinic.
Many patients are stuck because they do not have any alternatives. For instance, when they are undergoing a government aided treatment procedure, they have to necessarily go to a particular clinic mandated by the government. However, when patients are paying a hefty fee for IVF treatments at private clinic, they do have the option of switching clinics, which, surprisingly, they do no avail of.

Patients may feel they are cheating their chosen doctor by discontinuing with him, even though they may be discontented with him. Some believe that the doctor who has already done one IVF cycle for them might have got considerable insight into their case and thus, may be successful the next time. Many patients simply refuse to consider better clinics either because of their false generalized perception that all IVF clinics offer the same quality of treatment; or due to their reluctance to take the effort to search for a better choice. Their reluctance may stem both from a lack of awareness and lethargy. It is possible that they may not know how and where to look.

Take a deeper look into this issue at http://blog.drmalpani.com/2012/12/why-dont-patients-fire-their-ivf-doctor.html.

Improving the clinical consultation

The conventional method of the face to face clinical consultation to start an association between a doctor and a patient has both pros and cons. With incessant traffic jams, the trip to a doctor’s clinic is time consuming. The doctor may get caught up in an emergency which might result in a lengthy wait for the patient or cancellation of the consultation altogether. No wonder, this is highly tiresome. If the doctor is not at his cheerful best owing to some complication with another patient , a direct meeting might not be the best way to review your case. An extremely busy doctor with plenty of pending cases might liberally use complicated medical terms in his hurry , without giving an understandable explanation for the same. Reportedly, due to the strain of the consultation, most patients forget what the doctor said.

On the other hand, a face to face consultation allows the patient to judge the doctor, the atmosphere of the clinic, the behaviour of the staff and how comfortable it is likely to be for a patient. Most importantly, a patient can clearly eliminate any chances that a clinic might cheat him. Besides, a direct consultation will help the patient assess the doctor’s behaviour by the bedside, and whether they can effectively associate for a healthy professional relationship. Malpani Infertility Clinic explores cost & time effective alternatives as these consultations are usually lengthy and expensive. Know more at http://blog.drmalpani.com/2012/12/how-can-we-improve-clinical-consultation.html

When a patient hurts, the physician hurts too

I try to do my very best for all my patients.  As an IVF specialist, I would love to see all my patients get pregnant during their first treatment cycle.  Regrettably, this doesn’t always happen.  IVF specialists have to learn to cope with disappointments for their patients.  I recently had a young woman as a patient who was experiencing unexplained infertility.  It seemed as though she would be an easy case.  She was young with good ovarian response and her partner was an excellent sperm source.  We began the IVF cycle and collected several eggs from her.  I told her that her chance of conception was excellent. 

Unfortunately, when I did a “fertilization check” the next day, only one of her eggs was fertilized.  She had what is termed “total fertilization failure”, meaning she had no embryos to implant into her uterus.  I was very disappointed and she was devastated.  There was no medical reason for her eggs not to fertilize.  She was heartbroken over her perceived waste of time, money and resources but offered no other complaints.  Total fertilization failure is so unpredictable that it’s always unexpected.  It occurs in less than 5% of IVF patients. 
I was as upset as she was and felt I had let my patient down.One of the reason doctors choose the medical profession is because we like helping patients. We are human and have a heart - and when things don't go as planned, we share our patient's heartache, even though we know that lots of things in medicine are out of our control !

This story has a happy ending. The patient was well-informed and understood that this complication could not have been foreseen.She said - " Well, at least now we know why I was not getting pregnant all these years !" We did an ICSI cycle for her after a break of one month - and she has a gorgeous 3 months old daughter now !

IVF doctors are not mind readers

Unanswered questions and an inadequate knowledge base on the part of the infertile patient can diminish understanding and produce a large amount of anxiety Frequently , patients have complaints and preconceived notions about medical issues that are way off base. This especially true for infertility, because there are so many old wife's tales about this emotionally charged subject.  There are lots of myths about IVF, and these erroneous ideas come from listening to other people talk, a previous unhappy medical encounter , trying to reason an answer out in your own head or just not being sure of the procedure or process.  Your IVF doctor cannot help you to understand the process or clear your doubts if you don’t ask questions.  

Don’t be intimidated by your IVF physician and don’t be embarrassed about your lack of knowledge and understanding.  The only way you’ll learn is to ask questions.  All concerns and misconceptions need to be addressed and clarified before you, as a patient, can emotionally proceed with medical treatment.  IVF doctors understand this and want you to ask questions.  That tells us that you are emotionally involved in your care.  Knowledge is power and a great way to reduce stress and anxiety when dealing with the unknown. 

 Each patient is an individual with their own ideas, so don’t expect your physician to be a mind reader.  Ask your questions, state your concerns and request clarification if you still do not understand.  Be an active participant in your good health.

For more information see http://blog.drmalpani.com/2005/02/doctor-cant-read-your-mind.html

Motivation and IVF outcome

Reviews are everywhere about research conducted regarding physician expertise and experience and how this impacts the outcome of medical treatment.  After all, practice makes perfect and experience produces expertise.  A physician who enjoys his profession and who consistently does the same job repeatedly is much better prepared to care for his patient population.  

The same can be applied to the patient side of a medical relationship ! At Malpani Infertility Clinic we have found a higher rate of conception using IVF with patients who are motivated and involved in their medical care.  Active participation has been noted to significantly improve the results of treatment and the patients have less stress throughout the process.  Becoming psychologically involved with their treatment plans help to keep motivation levels high.

Motivated patients are typically well informed, more compliant and open to treatment options.  This creates a healthier environment and improves success of their treatment goals.  It keeps the stress of the situation in the control of the patient.  Highly motivated patients are usually more involved with understanding the dynamics of disease process and treatment options.  Motivated patients typically do much better than those who are not engaged in all aspects of their healthcare.  

Enquiring and curious IVF patients are much more likely to become happy parents with healthy babies ! 

For more information see http://blog.drmalpani.com/2005/02/impact-of-highly-motivated-patient-on.html