Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.
Talk about touching a raw nerve ... On Sunday I wrote about Art and Paula Jacobs, who are so upset with brusque HMO physicians that they're moving back to Los Angeles.
They aren't the only folks with complaints about rude doctors. Others with similar gripes weighed in, as did readers who defended their doctors.
A nurse said that during her own post-surgery checkup, her doctor was "quick and uncaring, not taking the time to explain or listen."
And a cardiovascular technician complained that after she received a stent to help open a clogged artery, her doctor didn't even speak to her and spoke so briefly to her husband that he was left confused by what happened.
Elizabeth wrote me, "Art and Paula Jacobs may be overreacting by moving back to California because of rude doctors here, but they are certainly not exaggerating the lack of interest some doctors show their elderly patients. "I have encountered several doctors who look at the elderly as pests and the only interest they show is in how quickly they can get you out of their office."
Rhonda told me in a phone call, "My gynecologist treated me like 'Bim, bam, goodbye Sam.' No 'Hello, how are you?' No conversation whatsoever."
Some readers don't think the Jacobses will find the grass any greener in California. "Bedside manner? That is an ancient expression," wrote Cheryl, a nurse who has worked all around the country. "Many doctors I have worked with are often very rude, very abrupt or short with their patients, and do not listen to what they are saying. "In the last 10 years it has all gotten much worse, and I sure don't know what the answer is," she said. "Somebody needs to lasso these people and keep them here, because they aren't going to find things much better where they are headed."
"Running back to the valley won't help," Randy echoed. "I have lived in Las Vegas for 16 years and it was not until two years ago that I found a doctor I like and trust."
Indeed, some readers applauded their doctors.
"It all boils down to the insurance," Annette wrote. "There are fabulous and compassionate doctors in the valley, and your article does not do them justice."
Last word goes to two physicians.
One of them, Keith, said, "There is no excuse for rudeness in any profession, but it is everywhere you go.
"As physicians we are constantly under pressure to see more patients in less time," Keith wrote in an e-mail. "This is a direct result of decreased payments and 'managed care' mentality, and not something we would rather do, but something we are forced to do."
But he said he was not surprised that the Jacobses' experience was in an HMO context.
"We aren't talking about a relationship which was chosen between doctor and patient; we are talking about an 'assignment' from a managed care organization whose primary concern is not for the patient and any relationship that might come from this arbitrary pairing."
(I think it ought to be the law that HMO administrators must get their health care from an HMO, and without the doctor or scheduling office knowing who they are.)
But another doctor, Lew, said he's encountered rudeness even among specialists to whom he has been referred. Lew is 80 and a retired surgeon specializing in spinal cord injuries.
"How can you justify rudeness?" he asked rhetorically. "These guys - hotshot specialists - are downright just plain rude. The art of medicine includes compassion for the patient. Doctors don't seem to practice that anymore."
Tom Gorman's column runs Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. He can be reached at 259-2310 or at tom.gorman@ lasvegassun.com.
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