Bay Area Doctors Polled On Patient Care

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Many patients have had a gripe or two about their doctor in the past, but according to a new survey, that goes both ways.

Among the main gripes from doctors is noncompliance, said Consumer Reports Senior Program Editor Nancy Metcalf.

"The number one thing that drives them crazy about patients is when they devise a treatment plan, whether it be tests, diets or medication," said Metcalf. "The patient says okay and then they go home and they don't do it."

KCBS' Jeff Bell Reports:

Metcalf said doctors also want their patients to form long-term relationships with them, but patients often lack that goal.

"People in our medical culture tend to think that if they have a specialist for each body part, they're getting great medical care," she said.

But Metcalf said that's a big misconception.

"There's actually been a lot of research that shows that people who have these kind of relationships with doctors have fewer health problems and spend less on care than people who doctor shop," she said.

Metcalf said doctors are also very wary of the online research that today's patients tend to do.

"61 percent of our patients we surveyed said that they looked up information on the internet, but only 8 percent of doctors said that that was a very helpful thing to do," she said.

In addition to polling more than 600 primary care physicians, Consumer Reports also surveyed more than 49,000 of its own subscribers.

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