It may seem like friendly doctors who joke around and share personal stories are better than those who are all business. Yet, one study shows that physicians who tell funny anecdotes or chat about their life—like what they did on vacation and how their kids are—are actually providing less quality service than quieter docs. Using secretly recorded patient visits, researchers from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry discovered that when doctors talk about topics that have nothing to do with your health, it becomes a time-consuming distraction that makes you forget questions you meant to ask and uses up the few minutes you have to get your questions in.
Tip: Is your doc gabby? Come prepared with a list of questions to make sure you get them all answered before you leave.
[photo: aeu04117]
