What kind of parents get gold stars for good behavior at the doctor's office?
HERSCHEL LESSIN, MD: Parents who ask questions and are not embarrassed to ask things that are of concern to them are serving the situation best. Just as important, parents who are willing to give the doctor's answers a fair hearing, even if those answers contradict what they may think they know, or what they've heard from family, friends or the Internet, are also on the right track. It's best if parents are willing to listen to what the doctor has to say and then come to an educated decision.
Do parents often come convinced of their child's diagnosis?
That just happened to me last week. I had a mom come in with three kids, that she said had pneumonia. She then told me that I was going to get them chest X-rays and do blood tests and I was going to prescribe them antibiotics.
And what did you do?
I spent about 45 minutes -- keeping my other patients waiting -- trying to explain to her why the children should not be exposed to excess radiation, did not need unnecessary antibiotics and did not have pneumonia. She wasn't hearing any of it. Those are the parents who get in the way of good medicine.
I don't dictate to parents, and parents should not dictate to me. My job, as I view it, is to convince you why my advice is better than your mother's. Ultimately, it's your child. But it's an interaction, a relationship.
Are some parents demanding antibiotics where perhaps they are not called for?
Yes, It's a big problem. It's enormously better than it was three years ago, when the media started publicizing the dangers of using antibiotics indiscriminately.
