Rekindling the Doctor, Patient Relationship

There is a palpable tension eating away at the doctor-patient relationship. Doctors are over-capacity. Patients are under-informed and lack the confidence needed to properly self-advocate for their health care needs. 

The doctor-patient relationship is experiencing a communication breakdown which is resulting in gaps in care, and a relationship that feels burdensome to both parties. But like any relationship, seeking help is often the first step.  

The Journal of General Internal Medicine recently found that primary care providers (PCPs) require an average of 26.7 hours to effectively carry out administrative tasks and provide care to their patients on a given day.  

In other words, for most physicians, giving “effective” care and communicating with patients often takes more time than there are hours in a day. 

And like any high-stress job that requires long hours, it can lead to burnout and turnover.  In fact, a recent study found that a jaw-dropping 49% of physicians said they were burned out. 

And, according to data from the American Academy of Physician Associates, nearly half of adults (47%) think their healthcare providers appear to be burned out or overburdened, and 30% say they have felt rushed during a healthcare appointment. 

But the onus isn’t completely on the PCP side of the house. Patients often enter their provider’s office without the proper toolkit to advocate for their own needs and are unable to appropriately communicate their health concerns. 

This includes a lack of awareness when it comes to understanding the importance of routine, preventive screenings that are critical for long-term health and wellness. 

According to U.S. News and World Report, 32% of patients said they can’t fit an appointment into their schedule or keep forgetting to make an appointment.  

And another 25% said they don’t like going to the doctor. 

Many patients simply aren’t getting the preventative health screenings and checkups they need as a recent study showed only 8 percent of adults were getting all the highly recommended preventive services with the greatest potential for improving health. 

This strained relationship leads to undiagnosed diseases, lack of access to effective treatments, non-adherence to prescriptions and medical advice, and restricted access to healthcare services.  

At the end of the day, when patients and doctors are unable to effectively engage in health care conversations, the quality of care and patient health suffer, resulting in rising U.S. healthcare costs, lower quality of care, and unhealthy patients. 

Fortunately, doctors and patients can lean on health plans and other industry partners for outside help. Much in the way that a therapist or marriage counselor can act independently and see both sides without bias or finger pointing.

Mending the fractured PCP-patient relationships requires holistic changes across the entire healthcare ecosystem. 

An accessible and inclusive communication model can bridge the gap between overworked and overloaded physicians and their patients who need health education, and more touch points related to chronic condition management. 

It requires health plans to look at, and support, creative ways to engage their members to take a more proactive approach to their health – the health plan can play a role in promoting self-efficacy among their membership through effective two-way communication that does not put additional pressure on the provider side, while also making underserved patients feel more valued.  

Third-party industry experts that focus on patient-doctor engagement can be a great asset to health plans. Their ability to focus on engagement can help bridge the care gaps between doctors, patients, and plans – leading to a better circle of trust and participation.  

Appropriately leveraging the expertise of third-party relationships can support health plans in strategically targeting and reaching vulnerable patients that reside in food deserts, lack viable transportation options, and suffer from social isolation — all key social determinants of health that impact health outcomes and may lead to barriers in seeking preventative care. 

In my years of experience working with both doctors, patients, and health plans, piloting creative patient engagement touchpoints like food delivery, or language-specific health literacy can help lead to better communication and care between plans, doctors, and patients, including upticks in critical preventive tasks such as annual well-visits, breast cancer screenings, diabetic tests, and medication adherence. 

When executed correctly, innovative approaches such as this will give patients the tools and confidence, they need to take control of their own health outcomes and communicate effectively with their doctors. 

The relationship and trust between ourselves and our primary care providers is one of the most important we have. As the old saying goes, “Trust takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair.” 

Trust doesn’t have to be broken, sometimes you just need an outside perspective to start the healing process. 

Photo: zhaojiankang, Getty Images

Ashley Tyrner-Dolce, once a single mom on Medicaid and food stamps, is the founder and CEO of one of the fastest growing healthcare services companies, FarmboxRx.  Ashley’s lived experiences drove her to challenge the status quo and pioneer FarmboxRx’s innovative solution to improve health outcomes while getting healthy food to those who need it most.  
 
Having appeared in various national news publications including TIME, being named the leader of one of their 100 Most Influential Companies of 2024, Forbes, CNN, BBC, and TODAY Show, Ashley is an advocate for advancing food access and health education to underserved populations. From creating partnerships for Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign to speaking around the country on healthcare, food policy, and entrepreneurship, Ashley has a clear conviction that everyone deserves the right to eat healthy. 

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