No one likes to find themselves at odds with their physician, but unfortunately it does happen. It can happen for a variety of reasons ranging from poor bedside manner, to blatant mismanagement or misdiagnosis of your inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Whatever the reason, firing your doctor is not an easy thing to do, but at times it may be your only choice.
Before you decide to fire your doc, you should try to first repair the relationship. You'll need to put your finger on the root of the problem: is it the doctor or is it
you (be honest!)? If the problem is something that you feel the two of you can work on, you'll want to take steps to smooth things over and try to establish a better working relationship. If it's impossible to work out your differences, you'll want to consider if it's time to fire your doctor and switch to a new one. Learn more about working positively with your doctor from this article.
If you have tried to work things out and are still unable to develop a good rapport with your physician, you may feel that it is time to change doctors. However, finding a new physician is not as easy as picking someone out of the phone book. You are leaving your present doctor because of a fractured relationship, and you don't want to go to the trouble of switching, only to end up in the same position again in a few months. Use the information in this article to make sure you're picking the right doc for the job.
Changing doctors isn't as simple as making an appointment with your new physician, and leaving the old one behind. You want to make sure that you have continuity of care, and you certainly don't want to have to repeat tests or bloodwork for your new doctor if you just had them done with your old doctor. In this article, find out how to respectfully leave your old doctor and start off on the right foot with your new doctor.
You may decide that you want to let your doctor know why you have decided to leave her care. You can do that during an appointment, over the phone, or you could write a letter. Writing a letter can also serve as a formal request to have your medical records released to you or forwarded to your new doctor. This article will help you decide if you'd like to write a letter, and also provides a sample letter that you can customize to your circumstances.
