Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Why rudeness and AI are pushing doctors to rethink their approach

Humeira Badsha, MD
Physician
December 4, 2024
Share
Tweet
Share

Last week my nurse called me, weeping. A patient had called and abused her, threatened her, and said he would complain to authorities about her. This, because his insurance company had delayed his medication refill request by a week. My nurse was hurt; she answers patient queries and emails even on her days off. He is not the only one shouting at and threatening medical staff. In my 30-year career in medicine, I am seeing the trajectory of rude, combative, and aggressive patients rise rapidly. Yesterday, a young woman whom I had called in (for a free visit) to discuss her complex, but thankfully, all normal results snapped at me, saying she didn’t need to come in to discuss normal results. I was taken aback by her rudeness. I prefer to discuss complex results in person for various reasons, but in our time-strapped world, people want an email or a quick message. Our time-tested protocols, which ensure patients fully understand their condition and we have communicated properly, are being abandoned. Patients are not satisfied because the world is changing, and they need quicker, faster, more efficient responses in a world that can answer all our questions at the touch of a button. Is their rudeness and impatience a sign that they want faster and better care? How do we deal with this? Do we modernize medicine?

Medical professionals sacrifice a lot. We give up our weekends and holidays; we come in to work when our kids are sick because there is no one to take our shift; we delay lunch and bathroom breaks. During COVID, while the world stayed home, we went to work every day. Is this sacrifice necessary or appreciated? Should we abandon the caring and compassionate niche and treat medicine like other services? Like a fast, efficient restaurant, for instance? No need to build relationships or care about poor outcomes? Just follow the protocols. Let us not cry over a patient who dies unexpectedly or the one who experiences that rare drug adverse event? Are the old ways neither time- nor cost-effective?

With the advent of AI, this may be where medicine is headed. Bright rooms where the intake has been done by a computer and where symptoms and labs have been uploaded. The algorithm then spews out the protocol, and follow-up workup or medication needed is recommended. The physician or provider checks this, spends 5 minutes confirming everything, and sends the patient on for their next steps. Third-party payors are part of the agreed algorithms too, and there are no delays. Maybe the patients can even do much of this online, and there is no need for them to commute and spend time waiting in doctors’ offices.

However, I know most of my patients so well, I will miss our chats and connections. I will miss the cookies and flowers, the little thank you notes. But it is inevitable. Artificial intelligence and cost inflation, patient expectations, and pressures from third parties are leading to “McMedicine.” Fast, palatable, but maybe not the best for your health. Some patients will get what they want—quicker, perhaps more accurate results. This may provide better access to care for millions of people. But I believe that some will need the fine medicine experience, the relationship with their doctor, the slow physical exam, the conversations, and the hugs. Because some, like me, believe that it’s in the moments between the history and physical exam, between pecking out orders on the computer, when the physician turns to look at the patient and ask about their lives—somewhere in those undefined moments is when healing happens.

Humeira Badsha is a rheumatologist.

Prev

When empathy is found in unexpected places [PODCAST]

December 3, 2024 Kevin 0
…
Next

The untold truths behind overdiagnosis and why it matters to your health

December 4, 2024 Kevin 2
…

Tagged as: Rheumatology

Post navigation

< Previous Post
When empathy is found in unexpected places [PODCAST]
Next Post >
The untold truths behind overdiagnosis and why it matters to your health

ADVERTISEMENT

More by Humeira Badsha, MD

  • Are doctors a dying breed?

    Humeira Badsha, MD
  • The unspoken grief of doctors: How losing a patient changes them forever

    Humeira Badsha, MD
  • A doctor’s grief

    Humeira Badsha, MD

Related Posts

  • How doctors prioritize family and career with “physician third”

    Stephen J. Foley
  • I was trolled by another physician on social media. I am happy I did not respond.

    Casey P. Schukow, DO
  • We’re doctors. We signed the book.

    Jonathan Peters, MD
  • Who says doctors don’t care?

    Cindy Thompson
  • Approach the gun violence epidemic like we do with coronavirus

    Charles Nozicka, DO
  • We need more doctors. International medical schools can provide them.

    Richard Liebowitz, MD

More in Physician

  • Why more doctors are choosing direct care over traditional health care

    Grace Torres-Hodges, DPM, MBA
  • How to handle chronically late patients in your medical practice

    Neil Baum, MD
  • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

    Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD
  • Why medicine must evolve to support modern physicians

    Ryan Nadelson, MD
  • Why listening to parents’ intuition can save lives in pediatric care

    Tokunbo Akande, MD, MPH
  • Finding balance and meaning in medical practice: a holistic approach to professional fulfillment

    Dr. Saad S. Alshohaib
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • America’s ER crisis: Why the system is collapsing from within

      Kristen Cline, BSN, RN | Conditions
    • Why timing, not surgery, determines patient survival

      Michael Karch, MD | Conditions
    • How early meetings and after-hours events penalize physician-mothers

      Samira Jeimy, MD, PhD and Menaka Pai, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • Forced voicemail and diagnosis codes are endangering patient access to medications

      Arthur Lazarus, MD, MBA | Meds
    • How President Biden’s cognitive health shapes political and legal trust

      Muhamad Aly Rifai, MD | Conditions
    • Why are medical students turning away from primary care? [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The One Big Beautiful Bill and the fragile heart of rural health care

      Holland Haynie, MD | Policy
    • Why “do no harm” might be harming modern medicine

      Sabooh S. Mubbashar, MD | Physician
    • The hidden health risks in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

      Trevor Lyford, MPH | Policy
  • Recent Posts

    • Beyond burnout: Understanding the triangle of exhaustion [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Facing terminal cancer as a doctor and mother

      Kelly Curtin-Hallinan, DO | Conditions
    • Online eye exams spark legal battle over health care access

      Joshua Windham, JD and Daryl James | Policy
    • FDA delays could end vital treatment for rare disease patients

      G. van Londen, MD | Meds
    • Pharmacists are key to expanding Medicaid access to digital therapeutics

      Amanda Matter | Meds
    • Why ADHD in women requires a new approach [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Why rudeness and AI are pushing doctors to rethink their approach
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...