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Do You Like Your Primary Care Provider?

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Do you like your primary care provider? Is your relationship with your doctor satisfactory? To no one’s surprise, the doctor-patient alliance is an essential element in the practice of healthcare today. In today’s society, many people tend to overlook the value of these relationships. As more research and studies are going public, this special bond has some people questioning how crucial a positive interaction between the patient and doctor must be for the delivery of high-quality care. The simple answer to their question is that such bonds are both effective and necessary when it comes to achieving a positive outcome. In order to achieve the best results, the healthcare system must restore trust and successful communication between the two parties; the doctor and the patient. Although scientists have called to conduct more research on this concept, studies have already shown that a valuable clinician-patient interaction has a small, but very significant impact on patient care. Years ago, patients who went to see multiple doctors in order to get what they wanted and needed were said to have been “doctor shopping.” Doctor shopping happens for a variety of reasons such as: insufficient communication between the patient and clinician, personal characteristics or qualities of the provider, the patient’s own lack of understanding of the diagnosis or treatment, and more (Sansone, “Doctor Shopping: A Phenomenon”). Although there can be many other reasons for people to doctor shop,

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