Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Three type of internet patients
The
Internet can be a valuable source of information for IVF patients. Along with medical information, there are lots of reviews about IVF clinics.
IVF has become a common medical procedure and reading first hand stories of their struggle and triumph can be very inspirational
to infertile couples who are in the same situation. However, the problem with the internet is that
it can be a source of both good and bad information, and sometimes patients are
not good at sorting out which is which. The internet can be both a blessing and a curse if you are a doctor trying to treat
patients.
There
are three patient types that use the internet. The first type of patient is one
who is an experienced internet user, and is able to find reliable information about IVF. They can separate the wheat from the chaff and then use this knowledge to effectively communicate with the doctor. These patients are a pleasure to treat !
The second type
of internet user does not know what they are doing, and by the time they see
the doctor, they are frustrated because they are lost and confused by the contradictory information on different websites. They do not know what to trust. This type of patient is already upset and
annoyed, and it can take time to educate them as to how to evaluate the quality of online information.
The last type of patient is an obsessive internet user , who uses the web a
lot, but gets so lost in technical minutiae, that they cannot interpret the information intelligently, or apply it in the right context. This kind of patient can easily challenge a doctor's patience , because they start thinking of themselves as being experts !
Patients
who use the internet can be both a blessing and curse for themselves and their doctors. The
internet is like any other tool, and it has to be used correctly.
Not sure what to trust on the internet ? Do google searches frustrate you ? Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm so that I can guide you better !
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Doctors and Their Egos
The main reason patients file complaints against their doctors is because they feel that the doctor has treated them badly. They feel doctors are arrogant and think of themselves are being Gods. I have come across quite a few doctors in my time, and I have met some that really deserved their bad reviews and patient complaints.
As a doctor, I have a lot of patients who tell me that I am a good doctor and I am very easy to talk to. While I appreciate the compliment, I have also heard a lot of horror stories about doctors who were high-handed and dismissive. In fact, this attitude of the doctors has actually made women look for another IVF clinic.
Why do doctors have such big egos? Why do doctors think they are better than everyone else?
I think the answer to this question can be found in the fact that doctors have to go through many years of medical college and training, which is why they start thinking of themselves as being superior to the layperson. Also, the very first time a doctor saves a patient's life, this success can go to their head. I have to admit, that while doing my residency, I had the same kind of experience - and having to deal with life and death situations can be both terrifying and exhilarating.
Are you having a hard time talking to your IVF doctor because he doesn't have time for you ?
Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm so that I can guide you better !
As a doctor, I have a lot of patients who tell me that I am a good doctor and I am very easy to talk to. While I appreciate the compliment, I have also heard a lot of horror stories about doctors who were high-handed and dismissive. In fact, this attitude of the doctors has actually made women look for another IVF clinic.
Why do doctors have such big egos? Why do doctors think they are better than everyone else?
I think the answer to this question can be found in the fact that doctors have to go through many years of medical college and training, which is why they start thinking of themselves as being superior to the layperson. Also, the very first time a doctor saves a patient's life, this success can go to their head. I have to admit, that while doing my residency, I had the same kind of experience - and having to deal with life and death situations can be both terrifying and exhilarating.
Are you having a hard time talking to your IVF doctor because he doesn't have time for you ?
Please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm so that I can guide you better !
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
It is Best to Let IVF Patients Make Their Own Informed Decisions
A
patient who had been advised IVF treatment
found during her pre-IVF treatment workup that she had a five millimeter
endometrial polyp in her uterus. Another IVF doctor she had gone to had advised
her to get the polyp removed before getting her IVF treatment. This patient came to Malpani clinic for a second opinion from me.
In
cases like this, it is hard to make definitive decisions. Each doctor has a
subjective opinion of issues like this which fall in the grey areas of medical
practice. Most doctors do believe in removing anything from the uterus before
putting an embryo inside the endometrial cavity . Naturally, they suggested she
get an operative hysteroscopy to get the polyp removed prior to the IVF cycle. This being a standard and
logical approach , is usual medical advice.
On the
other hand, many doctors consider this move unnecessary as there is no evidence
that a small polyp affects embryo implantation. Since, there is insufficient
clinical evidence for a concrete conclusion to be made, this issue remains
controversial. IVF specialists tend
to see only infertile women and they are quite likely to assume that if a woman
has uterine polyps, that these are the cause of her infertility and will
therefore, suggest their removal. However, contrary to this belief, it is a fact
that even fertile women can have endometrial polyps and can get pregnant even
if these are left alone. Since, they don’t have a fertility problem in the
first place , neither they nor the doctor ever discover it.
This
leaves both the doctor and the patient in a state of confusion. The patient
gets contradictory advice from different experts. One advocates surgery, the
other advises her to leave the polyps alone. What is she to do?
Are you
confused as well ? Do you need an objective
high quality second opinion from an IVF expert ? Please send me your medical
details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm
so that I can guide you better !
Monday, September 2, 2013
An embryo is not a baby
As
an IVF doctor , I treat women dream of becoming a mother. Many naively expect that once I have made the embryo in the IVF cycle and transferred this into her uterus, she will get pregnant. Lots of women called their embryos embies, because they start thinking of them as their babies. While it is true that embryos have the potential to become babies, there is a huge difference between a baby and an embryo which is simply a fertilized egg.
You
see the debate all the time on the news when it comes to abortion ! People who are pro-life will treat the fertilized egg as being a baby , because they feel it is uniquely human. However, pro-lifes fail to realize
that a cluster of cells is nothing more than a cluster of cells, and it needs to undergo many weeks of development before it even starts resembling baby.
Most women are on a high after their embryo transfer. Many start treating themselves as being pregnant - after all, isn't there an embryo inside the uterus ? However, the sad truth is that most
embryos
fail to implant inside the uterus, and IVF cycles fail all the time. I have seen women who have been so devastated
by a negative pregnancy test that they break down and cry in my clinic, because in
their minds they have just lost a baby. They feel that they have miscarried - and have failed to be able to provide their precious embryos with a safe and secure home.
Because patients do not understand the difference between embryos and babies, Malpani Clinic has been the subject of complaints and negative reviews
. Patients feel cheated when their IVF cycle fails, and are happy to badmouth their IVF doctor by writing unfair reviews.
If you are not sure why your embryos did not become babies, please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm so that I can guide you better !
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
The Commonest IVF Patients’ Complaints About Their Doctors
There is no patient who cannot
recount horror stories about doctors. If you ever reveal yourself to be a
doctor at a random party, be prepared to be regaled with endless complaints as to how terribly insensitive
and uncaring doctors are these days. Apparently, their legendary family doctor
was far superior and everyone fondly
remembers the caring doctor of yore, who made house calls and was a friend,
philosopher and guide along with being a doctor !
That doctors do not share information with them is by far one of the most common complaints. This is a rightful complaint as doctors, being busy, do not share information with their patients unless they feel that the patient needs it. If the patient’s health is improving they feel that it is useless to burden them with information about their pathophysiology and differential diagnosis. But if the patient doesn’t get better, they will most likely have complaints against the doctor for not sharing all information with them. Assuming that he deliberately withheld information they imagine that the doctor is simply out to cheat them. But the fact is, he may simply have been too busy to reveal information to them.
That doctors do not share information with them is by far one of the most common complaints. This is a rightful complaint as doctors, being busy, do not share information with their patients unless they feel that the patient needs it. If the patient’s health is improving they feel that it is useless to burden them with information about their pathophysiology and differential diagnosis. But if the patient doesn’t get better, they will most likely have complaints against the doctor for not sharing all information with them. Assuming that he deliberately withheld information they imagine that the doctor is simply out to cheat them. But the fact is, he may simply have been too busy to reveal information to them.
It is a
waste to make complaints that your
doctor does not share information with you. You only become sulky, enraged, sad
and bitter with your doctor being none the wiser about your resentment. Your
doctor most probably thinks he has told you whatever you need to know.
Learning
productive strategies to work as active partners instead of being passive
recipients of treatment can be a wiser approach for patients. It is best to
turn confrontational with the doctor only if the output is bad. Patients need
to learn to be more assertive instead of being inert.
If you
want more light shed on what information you need to maximize your chances of
IVF success, please send me your medical details by filling in the form at www.drmalpani.com/malpaniform.htm
so that I can guide you better !
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