By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Health Care Inflation
    May 17, 2011
    Uninsured, and Lovin’ It
    June 10, 2011
    Health Care Reform in 2 Short Sentences
    July 21, 2011
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: A New Kind of Stress Test
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Health Reform > A New Kind of Stress Test
Health ReformMedical InnovationsTechnologyWellness

A New Kind of Stress Test

Michael Kirsch
Michael Kirsch
Share
0 Min Read
SHARE
Readers of this blog, and those with whom I have shared my philosophy of medical practice, know that I am a conservative practitioner.   I rail against overdiagnosis and overtreatment.  Less medicine results in more healing and protection.  In an example, I have explained previously why I advise patients not to undergo total body scans, despite the lure that they offer a cancerophobic public. 

Readers of this blog, and those with whom I have shared my philosophy of medical practice, know that I am a conservative practitioner.   I rail against overdiagnosis and overtreatment.  Less medicine results in more healing and protection.  In an example, I have explained previously why I advise patients not to undergo total body scans, despite the lure that they offer a cancerophobic public. 


I’ve never undergone a CXR in my life.   I’ve never entered medicine’s Tunnel of Adventure, also known as a CAT scan.  My fear would be that the scan would show various internal imperfections of no meaning that would generate anxiety, expense and a cascade of medical tests to follow up on the ‘abnormalities’.  Any real patient reading this who has been around the block once or twice, will validate my scanophobia.   Not a week goes by in my practice, that I am not facing a worried patient who was found to have some trivial finding on a scan that nearly always is entirely innocent.  Often, the scan was not necessary in the first place.

Not surprisingly, I have never had a stress test.  I should say that I have never had a cardiac stress test.  As a living breathing human being, I face stress tests every day.  Not sure what I mean here?  Consider the last time you called an airline’s customer service representative.   If you have done so and have not suffered angina during process, then you are likely to have no significant coronary artery disease.  You have passed the stress test.

As I write this, I am seated in the Detroit airport, waiting for my connecting flight to take me to Boston.   Every aspect of air travel is a stress test; from the moment that I book tickets on line to the time that I sink into the plush and spacious seat that can comfortably accommodate a skinny gerbil. 

I have just discovered that my flight is delayed 50 minutes, or so they say.  I fear that the dreaded Delay Creep (DC) might set in here.  Here’s how this works.  They announce a 50 minute delay.  Forty minutes later, the delay is extended 35 minutes.  A half hour later, an announcement advises the smiling passengers that an update will be forthcoming at a time of their choosing.   DC in its purest form ends hours later with the flight’s cancellation.   My mom had this exact experience  on her way to visit me in Cleveland.  Did the $14.00 food voucher make her whole?

Air Travel is Stressful
The Wright Brothers – 1903

Patients have complained long before I earned a medical degree about unreasonable waits to see their doctor.  We do our best to run an on time shop, but there are times that we miss the mark.  Sometimes, it is our fault.  We come to the office late.  We squeeze patients into the schedule rather than add them on at the end of the day or tomorrow.  We don’t build in ‘firebreaks’ into the schedule knowing that every day brings delays that are not anticipated.  For example, if at the conclusion of a patient’s office visit, the patient’s tells me that her husband has cancer, should my response be, “Our time is up today, but please give him my best wishes”?

Sometimes, patients cause delays by arriving late or not doing the paperwork that we request to be done in advance.   Additionally, some of our elderly need extra time at home to get ready and need transportation to get to our office.  For the most obvious reasons, sometimes they just don’t make it on time despite their intentions to do so.  When this happens, which of the following responses do readers advise?

“Glad you made it!  Take a few deep breaths in the waiting room and we’ll be with you as soon as we can.”

“Back of the line, Granny!”

Some emergency rooms are using Twitter and other means to update their patients on the wait time.

Can physicians improve in their on-time performance?  We have seen in recent years that there is a potent force that can influences physician behavior.  Reimbursement.  If payment is linked to how long you have to wait for us, then our schedules will run like a Swiss chronometer.

Everyone’s time is valuable.   The next time you’re in the waiting room, consider any extra waiting time to be a gift.  This is your opportunity to collect your thoughts, read another chapter or two of a gripping novel, write a thank you note to someone in longhand or consider buying a gift for a special person for no reason.   Don’t make it a stress test.

 

Healthcare patients / shutterstock

More Read

The Three Cs of Physician Reputation Management
A Vision For Health Care In America
PPACA is Coming Soon To Your Neighborhood
Correct Use of Logos in Presentations of Medtech Companies
Personalized Prevention, Part IV
TAGGED:change in healthcarehospital adminpatient carephysician performance
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

technology in medical research
The Tools Helping Medical Researchers See the Full Picture
News Technology
August 3, 2025
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
Health
July 31, 2025
holistic dental
Holistic Dentist Services Are Natural and Safe
Dental health Specialties
July 28, 2025
botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025

You Might also Like

health myths
Home HealthPublic HealthWellness

The Old Wives Club: Which Health Myths Are True?

May 29, 2014

Thought Controlled Car–Brain Drive Has Arrived

May 6, 2011

New Mesothelioma Treatment Approved: Here’s What To Know About It

September 14, 2019
insurance shopping tools
BusinesseHealthFinanceHealth ReformTechnology

Insurance Shopping Tools Online: Open Enrollment Nears

October 31, 2014
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?