Spanish doctors careless of own health

Spanish doctors careless of own health, says report.(News)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included) The Official Medical College of Barcelona (COMB) released on June 7 the preliminary results of a survey showing that doctors do not pay due attention to their own health, and that, in most cases, they prefer self-treatment to seeking the advice of another doctor when ill. Early this year in Barcelona, a detailed questionnaire was sent to 795 doctors, of whom 262 replied. 69% were hospital doctors and 31% were working in primary-care centres. Most were specialists. The study revealed that 82% of doctors opt for self-prescription when ill, and that half do not have general practitioners (GPs), prefering to be cared for by colleagues or friends. Moreover, of doctors who do visit GPs, only 52% are on the GP's formal clinical record, and only half follow their medical recommendations.Miquel Bruguera, president of COMB, told The Lancet that the lack of attention doctors give to their own health has indirect negative consequences for patients' health. He says that "improving the doctor-doctor relationship would probably lead to an improvement of the doctor-patient relationship. When seeking medical care, doctors have to consider themselves as patients, not as doctors", he states. The survey revealed that 50% of doctors would like to see "doctors caring specifically for doctors".Bruguera is concerned over the fact that although 82% of the Catalonian population visit their doctor every year, "one third of doctors has not visited any doctor for more than a year". Even worse, "only 2.2% of doctors seek specialised medical care", he says.Around 40% of doctors surveyed regard visiting a doctor as difficult because "it is necessary to reach a consensus" and "for fear of the uncomfortable situation that may originate from diagnostic differences". Bruguera says it is a responsibility of medical corporations to deal with this issue. He even backs the ...