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Seen a doctor lately? Too few physicians are getting checkups

You probably haven't either. According to a recent study, about one-third of American doctors don't sit on the patient side of the room on a regular basis.

By Tanya Albert, amednews staff. Feb. 12, 2001.

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Day-in and day-out physicians see the benefits that annual exams have for their patients. Cancer is caught while it's still treatable. Dangerous blood sugar levels are detected. Flu shots are regularly scheduled.

But for some doctors, knowing what they need to do to take care of themselves and actually doing it are often two different things.

Chalk it up to busy schedules or a sense that they should be able to treat themselves, but it seems that physicians are sometimes more worried about their patients getting preventive care than they are about taking the time to schedule their own annual checkups.

About 34% of doctors don't have a doctor to whom they go on a regular basis, according to a recent study of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine graduates that was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Nov. 27, 2000).

"I was a little surprised the number was that low," said orthopedic surgeon Edward Quinn III, MD, president of the Medical Society of Delaware. Dr. Quinn doesn't have a regular source of care, but has a couple of doctors he sees when health issues arise. "I used to joke that the only time I got a physical was when I bought insurance."

But just because doctors don't have a regular source of care doesn't mean they don't get medical attention, researchers say.

Some physicians write a prescription for themselves when they get a pesky cough. They often consult a colleague in the hall or the lunchroom for a second opinion of a self-diagnosis -- the curbside consult. [...]