Trip to the Dermatologist

For years I've talked about how patients want simple, clear explanations, not long-winded, technical ones.

I was personally reminded of that myself when I attended a dermatologist recently. As it turned out there were two options for fixing the problem that I had – one that was quick but expensive and one that was slow but cheap.

People who know me can easily guess which one I chose.

The dermatologist started to get into a long detailed explanation but fortunately I had the gist of it and was able to head him off:

Me: "So, if I understand you correctly, both treatments produce the same result. One takes a week, one takes six weeks and the quicker one costs more."

Dermatologist: "Yes, exactly."

Me: "I'll take the quick one."

End of consultation. Decision made.

The point of this story is to never assume that patients want technical details of treatment. If they want those they will ask. Most patients (me included) just want to know what the options are the pros and cons of each and the cost.