Patients’ top complaint about physicians is the amount of time doctors make them wait for treatment, whereas physicians’ top complaint about patients is their failure to follow prescribed treatments, according to a Consumer Reports survey that examined both physicians’ and patients’ attitudes.
Patients also complained that physicians
- couldn’t schedule an appointment within a week—19%
- spent too little time with the patient—9%
- didn’t provide test results promptly—7%
- didn’t respond to phone calls promptly—6%
Doctors’ other complaints about patients include that they
- wait too long before making an appointment—41%
- are reluctant to discuss their symptoms—32%
- request unnecessary tests—31%
- request unnecessary prescriptions—28%
